The Lady Warriors picked up a terrific NCCAA win on Saturday as the team defeated a much-improved Ecclesia College team 86-70 in Springdale, AR. With the win the Warriors improve to 2-2 on the season.
“We’re happy with this result but more important I was proud we played really well,” Warriors Head Coach Tressa Shoemaker said. “Our defense was solid. We did a great job of making small defensive adjustments throughout the game that limited Ecclesia. We knew going in that rebounding would be key and we did a good job of getting position against an athletic team.”
From the opening tip, Ecclesia jumped out strong with a formidable full-court press. Calvary did a good job of being poised as they attacked each offensive possession. The team showed unselfish play offensively throughout as their offense was quite successful. The first half ended 36-39.
As the fourth quarter began, the Warriors were up by four points. It appeared this game would go down to the wire, but with three minutes to go in the game and with Ecclesia still within striking distance, Taylor Hunter was fouled hard and had to come out of the game with an injury. That injury caused a small offensive explosion for Calvary as Tori Veltkamp came in for Hunter to sink the two free throws. During the next three minutes the Warriors ended up going on a run and putting the game out of reach.
Taylor Hunter led the effort today with 33 points and ten rebounds. Anna Holloway added 21 points and ten rebounds, while Avery Kornstad contributed 19 points and nine rebounds.
The Warriors see their next action next weekend in Ankeny, IA at the Faith Classic.
The Warriors made some nice adjustments after the first quarter that allowed them to play almost even with the Patriots from Baptist Bible College through the rest of the game. The deficit from quarter one was too big in the end, as the Patriots defeated Calvary 73-91 in Springfield, MO. With the loss, the team falls to 0-2 on the season.
“We improved offensively throughout the game,” Warrior Head Coach Tressa Shoemaker said. “We did a good job of taking the ball to the hole and looking for open teammates. We got to the line and had some nice outside looks.”
“We are still struggling against pressure,” stated Shoemaker. “We are playing catch up with other teams right now due to our slow starting date to the season. They came out very fast to start the game and we will learn from that as we move forward. Our rhythm is coming. I am looking forward to coming back after Thanksgiving and tweaking things offensively to look at giving us the best opportunities to score. We need to believe in ourselves and what we can accomplish.”
“During the game we talked about when to transition and when we need to have patience offensively,” Shoemaker said. “We obviously need to continue playing and working through that. I was pleased with our man-to-man defense in the second half. We will need to come back after the break and put a lot of work into limiting second chance looks.
Taylor Hunter led the Warriors with 38 points and five rebounds. Anna Holloway added fourteen points, three steals, and three rebounds. The team will return from Thanksgiving with a game in Joplin, MO on December 1.
Turnovers crippled the Warriors on Monday night as the team suffered their fourth straight loss 68-108 against Baptist Bible College in Springfield, MO.
“We struggled tonight offensively in that first half,” Warriors Coach Matt Sanders said. “We turned the ball over against their press early. We had twenty turnovers and only five assists at the half. We struggled with patience. and were not strong with the ball.”
As the second half went on the Warriors did execute offensively and were beginning to make a run but still struggled defensively. “We have to learn how to play team defense,” stated Sanders. “Until we can move our feet defensively we will continue to struggle with stopping athletic teams from the field. Our highlights tonight were Peter Brandel, Seth Hower, and Braydon Unruh. Braydon led us on the night with 27 points while Peter added thirteen points, four rebounds and two steals. Seth gave us some solid minutes off the bench. It was also good to see us hit 76% from the line tonight.
With the loss, the Warriors fall to 0-4 on the season. Next up, the team will be in action on December 1 as they battle Ozark Christian College in Joplin.
The Lady Warriors opened the 2020-21 season on the road in Moberly as the team fell to Central Christian 65-77. Taylor Hunter led the Warriors with 20 points in the loss.
“We were excited to compete today after months of practicing and waiting for our first game,” Warrior Head Coach Tressa Shoemaker said. “We hit some of our goals offensively with some terrific assists, unselfish play, and good rebounding but we need to work on some consistent defensive pressure as we move forward.”
The Warriors struggled from three-point range as well as at the FT line. Still, they battled back several times throughout the game and came up just short in the final minutes.
“We played better defensively at times, but we couldn’t overcome our mistakes,” Coach Shoemaker said. “We have a lot of positives to take away, but I hate to lose an opener that was as close as this.”
Hunter’s 20 points and five steals led the Warriors, but the team also saw solid performances from Avery Kornstad and Abby Stegner as Kornstad finished with 15 points and five rebounds while Stegner added nine rebounds. The Warriors shot 40% from the field for the game but lost the rebounding margin 37-45.
Next up, the Warriors will back on the road next Monday for a game vs. Baptist Bible College.
CU is making final preparations to host the 2020 MCCC Volleyball Tournament October 30,31. A limited number of tickets have already been distributed due to COVID19 guidelines. We have a small number of tickets that remain. If you would like a ticket please email [email protected] with your name and valid cell phone number to be considered. We will give the remaining tickets out to Calvary University students and staff. Masks are required in the building. Individual screening for COVID19 will be done on everybody who enters the building.
The Calvary Warriors battled the JV team from Ottawa University to a 3-1 loss on Saturday afternoon in the final 2020 regular season match. The Warriors will now face Manhattan Christian College in the first round of the Midwest Christian College Conference Tournament at 5:30 pm Friday night at home.
“We played a very talented, well balanced Ottawa team today,” Warrior Head Coach Josh Johnson said. “While I thought we put up a good match, it wasn’t our best effort and we had some difficulty serving today. We showed some frustration on the court, and when we did, Ottawa took advantage of it and they were all over the court getting to tough balls defensively. We fought back several times with small runs, but we couldn’t overcome their toughness today.” Today was Senior Day for Tori Veltkamp, stated Johnson! “Tori has been such a blessing to the school and to our program. I praise God for her. This week we need to have some good practices and fix some serving and offensive struggles. We will come out ready for the MCCC Tournament.”
