Hope Team Win Home Openers (11/17/09)
Women's Box Score
Men's Box Score
Both Hope basketball teams opened their season with a home court victory on Tuesday night. The Flying Dutch extended their home floor winning streak to 50 consecutive games by topping Madonna University 82-70 while the Flying Dutchmen maintained their home court dominance with a 65-50 win over Rochester, Mich. The games were played before a near-capacity DeVos Fieldhouse crowd.

Flying Dutch: Hope led by as many as 30 points (70-40) before Madonna made a late run to come within 11 points with 1:45 remaining. Carrie Snikkers led Hope with 17 points while Erika Bruinsma added 11.

Flying Dutchmen: Junior Will Bowser scored a career high 24 points while sophomore David Krombeen established a fieldhouse record with 10 assists. Also scoring in double figures were Peter Bunn with 11 points and Chris Nelis with 10.

MIAA Basketball Coaches Predict Races
Defending MIAA champion Calvin and tournament champion Hope have been installed as preseason co-favorites in the 2009-10 MIAA men's basketball race, while defending champion Hope is the preseason selection to repeat as women's basketball champions. Calvin and Hope each received four votes in the annual preseason men's poll released today, while the Flying Dutch picked up six first place votes in the women's poll.
Men's Poll Results (first-place votes in parenthesis): 1. Calvin 10 (4), 1. Hope 10 (4), 3. Olivet 23, 4. Albion 24, 5. Adrian 32, 6. Trine 34, 7. Alma 45, 8. Kalamazoo 46.
Women's Poll Results (first-place votes in parenthesis): 1. Hope (6) 8, 2. Calvin (2) 13, 3. Saint Mary's 22, 4. Albion 29, 5. Trine 30, 6. Adrian 38, 7. Olivet 46, 8. Alma 49, 9. Kalamazoo 53.

The defending Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) champion Flying Dutch return a solid core of experienced players that is complemented by a promising group of players new to the varsity.

Coach Brian Morehouse begins his 14th season at the helm of a team that has won 20 or more games a school-record 11 straight years. The Flying Dutch posted a 28-2 record in 2008-09 and advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Division III championships for the second year in-a-row. The team was eliminated from the tournament by the eventual national champion for the second straight season. Morehouse ranks among the winningest active NCAA Division III coaches with a 316-58 (84%) record. His teams the past five seasons posted a 138-12 mark.

This year's roster includes nine returning letterwinners. There are six freshman prospects joined by two sophomores, six juniors and two seniors.

Tri-captains of the team are senior guard Philana Greene of Grandville (Grandville HS), senior guard Jenny Cowen of Dexter (Dexter HS), and junior center Carrie Snikkers of Jenison (Unity Christian HS). All three players have received All-MIAA first team honors during their career, Greene in 2007-08 and Cowen and Snikkers in 2008-09. Snikkers was also named a consensus Division III All-American a year ago.

Other returning letterwinners include junior guard Miranda DeKuiper of Ludington (Ludington HS), junior guard Abby Phillips of Wayland (Wayland HS), sophomore guard Allie Cerone of Wheaton, Ill. (Wheaton North HS), junior guard Lauren Geers of Scottville (Mason County Central HS), junior forward Erika Bruinsma of Grand Rapids (Grand Rapids Christian HS), and junior center Rachael Kutney of St. Clair Shores (Lake Shore HS). Sophomore guard Brooke Nienhuis of Zeeland (Zeeland West HS) was a member of the junior varsity a year ago.

The six freshman prospects include guard Olivia Allore of Muskegon (Muskegon Catholic Central HS), guard Liz Ellis of Grand Rapids (East Grand Rapids HS), forward Courtney Kust of Cincinnati, Ohio (Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy), center Ashley Bauman of Manistee (Manistee Catholic Central HS), forward Jillian Nichols of Brighton (Brighton HS), and center Meredith Kussmaul of Hartland (Hartland HS).

The Flying Dutch will play eight of their first nine games at home at the DeVos Fieldhouse where they carry a 49- game home court winning streak.

Flying Dutch Receive National Academic Award Flying Dutch Presented MIAA GPA Award MIAA Academic Honor Roll Recipients

2008-09 Season in Review

2008-09 Photo Galleries Hope versus Calvin Rivalry Game NCAA Tournament Games

WBB Season Results & Statistics
Alltime Records
2008-09 Winter Sports Season in Review
2008-09 Winter Sports Guide

Hope Tops NCAA DIII in Home Attendance 6/2/09)
The Hope women's basketball team led the nation in average home attendance among all NCAA Division III programs during the 2008-09 season. It marked the second time since moving to DeVos Fieldhouse four years ago that the Flying Dutch have led the nation's 420 Division III women's basketball programs in home attendance. Coach Brian Morehouse's Dutch averaged 1,269 fans over 17 home dates.

The Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) ranked third among Division III conferences, averaging 422 fans over a cumulative 101 home dates. Division III members as a whole averaged 239 fans per home date (5,029 home games). Division I members as a whole averaged 1,612 fans per home date.

The Flying Dutch also led Division III in home attendance in 2005-06, their inaugural year at DeVos, averaging 1,329 fans per game game. In 2006-07 Hope ranked fourth with an average of 1,224 fans and in 2007-08 was second at 1,107.

The Flying Dutch, who posted an overall 28-2 record, were 17-0 on their home court. The season's largest crowd (2,575) watched the Flying Dutch defeat Saint Mary's to avenge their only MIAA loss of the season, 84-59 on January 31. Hope's four-season record at DeVos Fieldhouse is 60-1. In 13 seasons under coach Morehouse the Flying Dutch are 173-20 (.896) on their home floor.

The Flying Dutch will enter the 2009-10 season with a home floor winning streak of 49 in-a-row. The season will begin on Nov. 17 with a home game against Madonna.

Flying Dutch Compete in NCAA Tournament
The 08-09 Flying Dutch played in the NCAA Division III tournament for the fourth year in-a-row and for the 11th time in school history. The Flying Dutch advanced to the Elite Eight before bowing to eventual national champion George Fox College of Oregon, 58-46. The Flying Dutch were national champions in 1990 and 2006. In 07-08 Hope also advanced to the Elite Eight before bowing to eventual national champion Howard Payne, Tex. Hope has an all-time record of 20-9 (.696) in NCAA games.

Carrie Snikkers an All-American
Hope's Alltime All-Americans
Sophomore center Carrie Snikkers has been named a consensus Division III All-American. She has been named to the 10-member State Farm Division III All-American team by the National Association of Women's Basketball Coaches and is being honored by two Division III groups, D3hoops.com (fourth team) and DIIInews (third team). She is the fourth Hope women's basketball player to be named an All-American, the third this decade. Snikkers of Jenison, Mich. (Unity Christian HS) was voted the most valuable player in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) this season. The Flying Dutch were conference champions, advanced to the elite eight of the NCAA tournament and posted an overall 28-2 record.

Coach Morehouse Honored
Coach Brian Morehouse has been named the regional coach of the year by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) for the third time in his 13-year career. Eight NCAA Division III coaches from across the country are being honored and are now eligible for national coach of the year recognition. Morehouse was named the national coach of the year in 2006. He has guided the Flying Dutch to a 316-58 record over his career, including 28-2 in 08-09, with eight conference championships and nine trips to the NCAA tournament. He entered the 2008-09 season ranked third among Division III coaches by winning percentage.

MIAA Awards Include MVP Honor
MIAA coaches named sophomore Carrie Snikkers of Jenison (Unity Christian HS) as the season's top player. Snikkers led the Flying Dutch to the MIAA championship and the conference tournament title, averaging 13.7 points per game. She also led the MIAA in field goal percentage (.526) and was second in the league in blocked shots (1.63 per game). She was joined on the All-MIAA first first by junior guard Jenny Cowen (Dexter/Dexter HS). Named to the All-MIAA second team were junior Philana Greene (Grandville/Grandville HS) and senior Courtney Knox (Mattawan/Mattawan HS).