Women’s basketball team to play at Hope in MIAA Tournament semifinals

OLIVET, Mich. – The Olivet College women's basketball team travels to play Hope College in the semifinals of the 2013 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) Tournament Wednesday, Feb. 20, at the DeVos Fieldhouse in Holland.

THE MATCHUP: Olivet (15-10, 10-6 MIAA) vs. Hope (24-1, 15-1 MIAA)
DATE/TIME: Wednesday, Feb. 20 at 7:30 p.m.
VENUE: DeVos Fieldhouse; Holland, Mich.
LIVESTATS: http://livestats.hope.edu/bb
LIVE AUDIO: http://www.wocrfm.com
TICKETS: Tickets are available at the door or in advance at http://tickets.hope.edu/ticketing/

MIAA TOURNAMENT: The Comets are the No. 3 seed, while the Flying Dutch are the No. 2 seed. The other semifinal features No. 1 seed Calvin College hosting No. 4 seed Trine (Ind.) University. The winners of the two semifinal games will play in the tournament championship game Saturday, Feb. 23, at 3 p.m. The game will be played at the highest remaining seed.

SEASON SERIES: Hope won both regular season meetings. On Dec. 19, 2012, the Flying Dutch beat the Comets, 56-44, at The Cutler Event Center in Olivet, and on Feb. 6, 2013, Hope won the second meeting, 74-47, at the DeVos Fieldhouse.

OLIVET HEAD COACH NICOLE BURFORD: Nicole Burford is in her third season as the head coach of the Olivet College women's basketball program and is only the third coach in school history to post a winning season. She was an assistant coach for three years before earning the promotion to head coach. Burford earned a bachelor's degree from Oberlin (Ohio) College.

HOPE HEAD COACH BRIAN MOREHOUSE:  Brian Morehouse is in his 17th season at the helm of the Flying Dutch. He has guided them to 421-69 record and led them to 12 MIAA titles and 11 trips to the NCAA Division III tournament, including winning the DIII national championship in 2006.

SCHOOL RECORD: The Comets broke the single-season school record for wins in MIAA play (10) and tied the single-season school record for overall wins (15).

SECOND-BEST FINISH: The third-place finish ties for the second-best MIAA in the final MIAA regular season standings in school history. The 1989-90 team had a 9-3 record to finish in second-place, while the 1986-87 team was also third with an 8-4 record.

CAPTAINS: The 2012-13 team captains are senior Mellissa Bageris, of Miflord, and junior Heather Lauwers, of Ortonville.

RECORD BREAKER: Junior Kelsey Campbell, of Olivet, has broken her own single-season assists record. During the 2011-12 season, she had 135 assists, and this season, she has 136. Her two-year total of 271 assists ranks third among the all-time leaders at Olivet.

LEAGUE LEADERS: In just the 16 MIAA games, Campbell ranks first in total assists (101) and assists per game (6.31), second in three-point field goal percentage (.425), third in three-point field goals made (34) and fifth in scoring (12.6 ppg).

MORE LEAGUE LEADERS: Sydney Radde, of Stevensville, and Lauwers rank in the top four in rebounding, with Radde at second (7.5 rpg) and Lauwers at fourth (6.6 rpg). Radde is also third with 25 total blocks. Chelsea Ciba, of Olivet, is third in assists per game (3.2) and sixth in steals per game (1.79).

TWO-SPORT ATHLETES: Lang also played volleyball during the 2012 season. Lauwers along with junior Rachael Wagner, of Clinton Twp., were members of the track and field team last spring.

MORE ON MIAA TOURNAMENT: Calvin and Hope shared the MIAA title with identical 15-1 league records. Calvin was given the top seed in the tournament after winning a coin toss.