For the first time ever, the Calvin women's basketball team is in the Sweet 16. We got in the tournament, past the first round, went to a hostile gym, just like the past three years. Calvin had lost in the NCAA second round each of the last three years. Last year's abrupt halt was especially tough to swallow, as the Knights lost on a last second shot to Mount Union, which would go on to claim third in the nation. This year the task would be no easier.
Old habits die hard, after all.
Baldwin-Wallace sat atop the regional rankings all season and was ranked fourth in the nation. Although Calvin's trademark defense shone, capping the home team at a relatively modest 49 percent shooting rate, it was the offense that emerged Saturday. The Knights lit it up from the floor, finishing with a searing 59 percent. The attack was two-pronged as Mindi Andringa poured in 24 points while Kerry Walters pounded home 22 underneath. But we came out and shot the ball really well.