By Dana Finkler
Collegiate Staff Writer
The Raiders opened up the first home game of the season with a 73-70 double overtime win against Calvin JV.
“It was imperative after coming off a loss to get the win at the first home game,” said women’s head coach Eric Taylor.
Calvin JV and the Raiders battled back and forth the entire first half.
Calvin JV made six three pointers in the first half to keep them close with the Raiders, going into halftime trailing by one point, 34-33.
Raiders guard Kristina Cousins scored 16 points and brought down six rebounds all on the defensive end of the floor.
Calvin JV was able to get back into the game during the second half with big shots and clutch free throws down the stretch to keep the game close.
Guard Kelly Harris of Calvin JV led the team in scoring with 16 points and kept them in the game on numerous occasions hitting clutch shots and free throws.
Despite making a clutch free throw to send the game to double overtime, Calvin JV had turnovers down the stretch to keep the Raiders in the game.
After a steal the Raiders pushed the ball up the court and found a wide-open guard Janele Johnson Ellis, who hit the game winning three pointer with 5.9 seconds left to give the Raiders the win. Johnson-Ellis scored eight of her 16 points in the second overtime. She also pulled down seven rebounds leading the Raiders.
The Raiders were able to dominate the game by outscoring Calvin JV in the paint scoring 40-16 and pulling down rebounds in clutch situations.
Despite the win, Taylor wasn’t too happy with his team’s play.
“Always happy to get the win, but we have a lot of things to work on,” Taylor said. “It put a lot of things in perspective and showed us things we need to continue to work on as a team”.
The Raiders improve to 3-1 on the season; their only loss was to Schoolcraft. The next game is home at the Gordon Hunsburger Arena on Tuesday, November 29 against Davenport JV. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 P.M.
