Purdue Calumet Stands Ground in 94-78 Setback at Valpo
The No. 11 Purdue University Calumet women’s basketball team showed signs of good things to come in a highly competitive 94-78 setback at NCAA Division I Valparaiso Saturday in exhibition play at the Athletics Recreation Center.
Junior Cassidy Deno’s (Otterbein, Ind./Benton Central) 3-pointer completed an 18-5 run to give the Peregrines a brief 55-54 lead in the third quarter, but the Crusaders would go on a run of their own to extend the lead to nine, 71-62, heading into the fourth quarter, allowing the home team to pull away late.
Deno finished with 22 points on 7-of-18 shooting — including 3-of-7 from behind the arc — and added six rebounds, two steals and two assists for the Peregrines (0-0), who open their regular season Tuesday night with a 6 p.m. home contest against Indiana Tech.
Senior forward Jada Buggs (Elkhart, Ind./Elkhart Memorial) scored a game-high 24 points on 7-of-14 from the field and 3-of-4 from downtown, adding three rebounds, four assists, and two blocks to lead Purdue Calumet’s offense.
Valparaiso, who finished 6-24 overall in 2014-15, opened Saturday’s game on a 5-0 run after two missed Peregrine jumpers opened the door for two Valpo makes by Abby Dean and Meredith Hamlet, who drained a triple. Purdue Calumet would respond with a 4-0 run on jumpers from Deno and Buggs to cut the lead to 7-6, but another two buckets from Hamlet and a 3-pointer by Annemarie Hamlet helped the hosts take a 28-16 lead after the first period.
In the second frame, the Crusaders led by as many as 17 (37-20) but Purdue Calumet hung around, cutting the lead down to five, 40-35, on freshman Michaela Kikendall (Morristown, Ind./Morristown) jumper with 1:14 left in the half. After two Jessica Kiser (Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville) free throws again kept Valpo’s lead at five, the Crusader’s Hannah Schaub drained a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the host an eight-point lead at halftime, 45-37.
Despite Purdue Calumet’s furious rally in the third to take its only lead of the contest, Valparaiso maintained its composure down the stretch, as the Peregrines only got as close as nine points (73-64) on Patrice McBee’s (Culver, Ind./Culver Community) layup with 9:20 to play before the lead extended to as many as 16 late.
Sophomore Katie Wampler (Scottsburg, Ind./Scottsburg) added eight points for the Peregrines, making both of her shots from the field, including 1-of-1 from 3-point land, to go along with three makes at the free throw line. She added three blocks, three boards and an assist. In her first collegiate action, Kikendall finished with seven points on 3-of-4 shooting in just six minutes on the floor and junior point guard Darien Thompson (Anderson, Ind./Anderson) led the squad with six assists.
Five players reached double-figure scoring for Valparaiso, led by Jasmyn Walker’s 19 points and 18 from Meredith Hamlet. The Crusaders shot 49.4 percent (38-of-77) from the field compared to 41.4 percent (24-of-58) for the Peregrines, as the host also won the battle on the boards, 42-34.
From deep, both teams were fairly even, as Purdue Calumet shot 47.4 percent (9-of-19) compared to 37.9 percent (11-of-29) for Valparaiso. The Peregrines were able to reach the free throw line 20 more times than the host, making 21-of-32 (65.6 percent) compared to 7-of-12 (58.3 percent) for the Crusaders.
Graber Nets First Career Hat Trick in 6-5 Loss to Calumet College
Kami Graber scored her first career hat trick in the finale game of her career, but the Purdue University Calumet women’s soccer team fell to a late goal in a 6-5 conference loss to Calumet College of St. Joseph Saturday at Dowling Park’s Pepsi Field.
Graber (Nashville, Ind./Brown County) also added an assist in the game, as the senior tied the game in the 87th minute – via Shelby Ross’ (Columbus, Ind./Columbus North) second assist of the game – to give the Peregrines (2-15-1, 1-11 Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference) new life.
But Calumet College (3-14, 2-10) answered right back, as Brianna Dougherty scored the game winner just 28 seconds later on an unassisted score to the upper right corner in the 87th.
Dougherty finished the game with a hat trick of her own, adding scores in the 71st and 78th minute, the latter which gave the Crimson Wave a 4-2 lead late in the second half. Purdue Calumet junior Rachel Gregory (Highland, Ind./Highland) cut that deficit to one in the 80th minute, when the forward broke free on the right side and finished a pass from Shayna Coy (Fort Wayne, Ind./Bishop Leurs) inside the top of the near post to make it 4-4.
The game was tied at halftime, as CCSJ’s Carly Bermes scored first in the 13th to make it 1-0, Crimson Wave. Graber found the answer in the 30th, finishing a cross to the middle from Ross before Calumet College’s Stephanie Hurwitz gave the visitors a 2-1 lead in the 37th.
Ross and Graber connected again to send into halftime tied at 2, as Ross scored on a Graber assist in the 40th minute.
The Crimson Wave just edged the Peregrines in shots, 16-15, as Ross finished with five shots, all on goal, and Graber had four, all on goal. Both teams finished with five corner kicks.
Kimberly Gingell picked up the win in goal for the Crimson Wave, stopping eight shots. Purdue Calumet keeper Kelley Sharp (Seymour, Ind./Seymour) finished the game with six saves.
Purdue Calumet concluded their 2015 season with the match under first-year head coach Kellie Evans.
Peregrine Player of the Match: Kami Graber