Holland, MI - After hanging tough for the first half of basketball against NCAA DIII powerhouse Hope College, the Flying Dutchmen went on a huge run to start the second half and ran away with a win over the Tigers.
The Tigers went into the halftime break with a 12-point deficit, and it was not unreasonable to think they could make a run in the second half if they minimized their turnovers and knocked down some shots. The Tigers struggled to take care of the ball to start the second half, and points off of turnovers (45 for Hope, 3 for Grace) would be their demise as they suffered the setback Tuesday night.
This is the final game of a stretch for the Tigers that saw them compete against multiple nationally-ranked schools in NCAA DII & DIII and the NAIA, which will certainly prove to be beneficial for the second half of the season.  Assistant Coach Ashley Xiong Vang spoke after the game.
"I am so proud of the way our players battled last night. Despite the injuries and illnesses we have been dealing with, these ladies come out and battle every night. We had a strong 1st half and was proud of the way we executed both defensively and offensively against a #5 ranked team in the nation. This wasn't the first time we had seen full court pressure or tight man to man defense like this. Playing games like Davenport and Grace College really helped us prepare for this. Coach Long did a great job of reminding the team to focus on playing hard and just never giving up. The scoreboard doesn't reflect it, but playing teams like Hope will only help us get better."
Emily Libey led the Tigers with 11 points, followed by Megan George and Ashley Hoek with 10 each. Hoek also pulled down 10 rebounds and blocked 6 shots for the Tigers.
The Tigers will enjoy some time off for the Thanksgiving break before a home exhibition game Monday against Lake Superior State University's JV team and a regional game against Great Lakes Christian College on December 4th at Little Caesar's Arena in Detroit.
