Flying Dutch Win Season's Third Game (11/25/08)
Box Score
For the second time in 72 hours, the Flying Dutch posted a victory over Defiance. On Tuesday in Ohio, coach Brian Morehouse's Dutch topped the Lady Jackets 76-59 to improve to 3-0 on season. Last Saturday the Flying Dutch defeated Defiance 79-57 in the championship game of Hope's tipoff tournament.

Ranked fourth nationally in the season's first USA Today Division III poll, the Flying Dutch extended their three-season-long regular season winning streak to 26 games. It marks the sixth time this decade that the Flying Dutch have strung together 25 or more victories.

Defiance scored the game's first basket (a three-pointer), but it would be the Lady Jacket's only lead as Hope scored 14 unanswered points and led 37-30 at halftime.

Four Hope players scored in double-figures led by Carrie Snikkers with 12 points followed by Philana Greene 11, Courtney Knox 11 and Kaitlyn Kopke 10.

Snikkers recorded her third career double-double grabbing 13 rebounds while Knox had double-digit rebounds (11) for the third straight game this season.

Flying Dutch Win Own Tipoff Tourney (11/22/08)
Hope 81, Concordia, Minn. 71 / Defiance 70, Alma 68
Hope 79, Defiance 57 / Concordia 72, Alma 45
The Flying Dutch opened their season on a successful note by sweeping their own tipoff tournament with a pair of victories. Coach Brian Morehouse's Dutch extended their three-year-long regular season winning streak to 25 games by defeating Concordia, Minn. 81-71 on Friday and then topping Defiance, Ohio in Saturday's championship game, 79-57.

Senior Courtney Knox was voted the tournament's most valuable player after posting back-to-back double-double performances. On Saturday she had 10 points and 10 rebounds. It followed Friday's effort of 13 points and a fieldhouse record 16 rebounds. Junior teammate Philana Greene was voted to the all-tournament team. She scored 16 points in Saturday's championship game after tallying 15 on Friday.

Flying Dutch Open With Victory (11/21/08)
Hope 81, Concordia, Minn. 71 / Defiance 70, Alma 68
A balanced scoring attack paced the Flying Dutch to a season-opening 81-71 victory over Concordia, Minn. Friday in the second game of Hope's Tipoff Tournament. Defiance, Ohio edged Alma 70-68 in the night's other game. The Flying Dutch will meet Defiance in Saturday's championship game.

The Flying Dutch extended their regular season winning streak to 24 in-a-row dating back to the 2006-07 season.

Leading Hope scorers was Courtney Knox who recorded her third career double-double with 14 points and 16 rebounds. The 16 rebounds were a DeVos Fieldhouse record. Jenny Cowen scored a career-high 19 points followed by Philana Greene 15, Carrie Snikkers 13 and Miranda DeKuiper 10.

The Flying Dutch never trailed in the game and had a 22-point lead early in the second half, but the visiting Cobbers cut the lead to seven points, 68-61, with six minutes left. The Dutch got the lead back to double figures on back-to-back baskets by Kaitlyn Kopke and Greene.

Hope's Season Opener is Cancelled (11/12/08)
The virus that swept across Hope College causing the campus to be closed for several days has another casualty.

Officials at Mt. Union College notified Hope on Wednesday afternoon that its women's basketball team will not be allowed to travel to Holland for a season-opening game against the Flying Dutch at DeVos Fieldhouse on Saturday night.

The decision came on the heels of Hope receiving permission from Ottawa County health officials to resume to normal activities, including athletic practices and contests.

Mt. Union officials indicated their decision was based on their assessment of what is happening at Hope. The virus that affected approximatelty 425 students, faculty and staff has received national media attention.

Lisa Stefanovsky, health officer for Ottawa County, noted that the numbers of cases at Hope have significantly declined since the outbreak began nearly a week ago and that "risk of exposure is minimal."

Mt. Union College had its own health scare earlier this fall when a volleyball player was taken seriously ill while on an athletic trip and ended up being hospitalized for two weeks. The source of the illness was identified as E.Coli, according to "The Dynamo,: the student newspaper at Mt. Union. The student has since recovered, according to Mt. Union officials.

The Purple Raiders are coming off a 10-17 record and had been picked to finish sixth in the pre-season Ohio Athletic Conference poll. The Flying Dutch were 30-1 a year ago and have been picked as the pre-season favorite in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association.

Hope's season opener will now been a home Tipoff Tournament the weekend of Nov. 20-21.

The defending Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) champion Flying Dutch return a solid core of experienced players although just one starter from last year's team.

Coach Brian Morehouse begins his 13th season at the helm of a team that has won 20 or more games a school-record 10 straight years. The Flying Dutch posted a 30-1 record in 2007-08, losing only to eventual national champion Howard-Payne, Tex. in a Division III quarterfinal tournament game. Morehouse ranks among the winningest active NCAA Division III coaches with a 288-56 (84%) record. His teams the past four seasons posted a 110-10 mark.

This year's roster includes 10 returning letterwinners and is comprised of three freshmen, nine sophomores, two juniors, two seniors.

Tri-captains of the team are junior guard Philana Greene of Grandville, Mich. (Grandville HS), senior guard Kaitlyn Kopke of Haslett, Mich. (Haslett HS), and junior forward Jenny Cowen of Dexter, Mich. (Dexter HS).

Greene, a first-team all-conference honoree as sophomore, is the only returning starter although the team has six players who averaged 12 minutes or more per game last season. Greene led the MIAA in field goal shooting (55%) in 07-08 and ranked second in steals (2.56 pg).

Other returning letterwinners include sophomore guard Miranda DeKuiper of Ludington, Mich. (Ludington HS), sophomore forward/center Carrie Snikkers of Hudsonville, Mich. (Unity Christian HS), sophomore guard Lauren Geers of Scottville, Mich. (Mason County Central HS), sophomore forward/guard Erika Bruinsma of Grand Rapids, Mich. (GR Christian HS), sophomore guard Dani Fegan of Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. (Sault Area HS), senior Courtney Knox of Mattawa, Mich. (Mattawan HS), and sophomore center Rachael Kutney of St. Clair Shores (Lake Shore HS).

Players moving to varsity from last year's jayvee team include sophomore forward Elise Adams of Burnsville, Minn. (Bloomington HS), sophomore guard Abby Phillips of Wayland, Mich. (Wayland HS), and sophomore forward Heather Kreuze 0f Kalamazoo, Mich. (Otsego HS).

Freshman players on the varsity include guard Amy Veltkamp of Cedar Springs, Mich. (Cedar Springs HS), guard/forward Jessa Boles of Grand Rapids, Mich. (Forest Hills Central HS) and guard Allie Cerone of Wheaton, Ill. (Wheaton North HS).

For the second year in-a-row Hope College will host the NCAA Division III Final Four at DeVos Fieldhouse on Friday and Saturday, March 20-21.

Flying Dutch Pre-Season MIAA Favorite
Hope's defending champion Flying Dutch are the pre-season favorite of MIAA coaches. Coach Brian Morehouse's Dutch received six first place votes. One coach split his/her first place ballot leaving Calvin with 2.5 votes while Albion with a half. The order of vote is: 1. Hope 11, 2. Calvin 14.5, 3. Albion 21.5, 4. Saint Mary's 31, 5. Adrian 34, 6. Olivet 46, 7. Alma and Trine 53 each, and 9. Kalamazoo 60. The Flying Dutch open their season Saturday, Nov. 15 hosting Mt. Union, Ohio.

Flying Dutch Play Games Abroad
The Flying Dutch prepared for their season with a summer international trip that included games played in Germany and the Netherlands. Coach Brian Morehouse and players posted a journal during their trip. Read Journal

The Flying Dutch captured the championship of the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA), put together a 30-game winning streak as the top-ranked team in Division III and advanced to the Elite Eight of the national tournament before bowing to the eventual NCAA champion.

Coach Brian Morehouse's Flying Dutch were the top-ranked team among 400 NCAA Division III colleges most of the season. The team went undefeated until their final game (30-1) losing to Howard Payne, Tex., 53-49.

Senior Jordyn Boles of Grand Rapids, Mich. was honored as first team All-American. She was also a three-time All-MIAA honoree who over her career started in a school-record 120 consecutive games, compiling an amazing 110-10 record. Joining Boles on the MIAA all-conference basketball teams were sophomore Philana Greene of Grandville, Mich. and senior Lindsay Lange of Manistee, Mich.

Hope's DeVos Fieldhouse was also the site for the NCAA Division III women's basketball final four championships. A late winter storm that dumped a foot of snow on Holland did not deter fans from attending the spectacle. In fact, the women's Division III championships had a larger attendance than at the men's. Hope will also the women's championships again in 2009.