Calvin Clips CUW in Season Opener

LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Friday saw the CUW women's basketball team fall to the Knights of Calvin University 59-48 in their season opener at the Forester Tip-Off Classic.

Sophomore Ava Booth (Plymouth, Wis.) found her groove early, scoring the first six CUW points to knot the game up 6-6 with 3:03 remaining in the first quarter.

The tempo of the first quarter picked up as Calvin went on a 12-2 run to take an 18-8 lead over the Falcons with 35 seconds remaining in the first quarter. But CUW would quickly respond with a bucket of their own, as freshman Gracie McNabb (Grafton, Wis.) drained a three-pointer from fellow freshman Jayden Ross (Baraboo, Wis.).

Out of the break, the Falcons were first to strike, as junior Aubrey DeBauch (Gillett, Wis.) made a layup. Then, with 6:08 remaining in the first half, Ava Booth drilled a three-pointer to cut the Knight's lead to five. But Calvin would respond with a basket of their own to retake the seven-point advantage. But the Falcons responded with a solid possession of their own, as Liliana Guerra (Yorkville, Ill.) made a three-pointer to shrink the Knight's lead to 25-21 with 5:02 left in the second quarter, forcing a Knight's timeout.

The Falcons would cut the lead to just two out of the timeout as Lilliana Guerra stole the ball and found Jayden Ross for the layup. On the next possession, the Falcons' defense forced another Knight's turnover as Aubrey DeBauch stole the ball and drew the foul while shooting. At the line, DeBuach would sink both free throws to tie the game at 25-25.

CUW's excellent second-quarter run continued as senior Erin Viergutz (Clintonville, Wis.) scored her first points of the night to put CUW up 27-25 with 2:45 left in the second quarter.

The Knights would respond with a 5-2 run to go up 32-27 with 24 seconds left before Liliana Guerra hit her second three of the night with eight seconds remaining to make it 32-30, advantage Calvin, heading into the half.

The third quarter played out much like the first two, as the close matchup between Concordia and Calvin continued. Liliana Guerra picked up where she left off, hitting her third three-pointer of the night to cut Calvin's lead to just one with 8:35 left in the third quarter.

Later in the third quarter, with 4:05 remaining in the third quarter, the Falcons took their first lead of the night as Aubrey DeBauch scored back-to-back layups to take the 41-39 lead.

But the Knights of Calvin would close out the quarter on an 8-0 run to secure the 47-41 lead heading into the fourth.

With 4:18 left in the game, Erin Viergutz cut the Calvin lead down to four with a layup. Despite the comeback efforts from Concordia, Calvin ultimately pulled away with the 59-48 victory.

In the loss, Aubrey DeBauch and Ava Booth led the Blue and White with 12 points each. DeBuach also led the Falcons with three assists and three steals. Defensively, Erin Viergutz snagged six defensive rebounds and totaled seven rebounds on the night.

The CUW women's basketball team will return to action tomorrow, Nov. 11th, to take on the Foresters of Lake College, with the start slated for noon.