IRVINE, Calif. - Junior forward Michaela VanderKlugt dropped a career high 34 in only three quarters, leading the Concordia University Irvine women's basketball team to a 98-57 rout of Holy Names University.
Baskets started falling early and they fell often as the Eagles shot a blistering 55.6% from behind the three point line and 53% overall from the floor.
VandeKlugt lead the way going a perfect 4-4 from deep. She is now seven points shy of a thousand for her career and looks to reach the milestone when the Eagles travel north after Christmas.
"It feels really great to go into Christmas break with a career night," said VanderKlugt. "I've been waiting for everything to start coming together in my game. I was showing glimpses but I felt tonight I put it all together. My teammates knew I had the hot hand and got me the ball. We were very unselfish tonight as a whole, I feel! Everyone was involved and I'm excited for Christmas but also to get back to school to start grinding again!"
To her point, the Eagles had 27 assists on 35 made baskets.
Head coach Christine Collins-Kiernan has asked a lot of VanderKlugt from the moment she set foot on campus two and a half years ago. Every single time VanderKlugt has rose to the challenge.
"Michaela is one of the most bought in players I have ever coached," said Collins-Kiernan. "She puts in a lot of extra time and that shows in her shooting percentage and ability to execute. I played her only three quarters tonight and with the rhythm and timing she had today I think she would have really set a scoring record."
On top of her career night from the field, VanderKlugt grabbed four defensive rebounds (six total), putting her in sole possession of seventh place on the all time list for career defensive rebounds with a total of 409.
While the Eagles started out with the hot hand, the Hawks started to see some shots fall and the basket became bigger.
With 5:39 left in the second quarter the Hawks had cut the Eagles lead to five. With Jasmine Rachal in foul trouble, Collins-Kiernan went deep into bench and called on sophomore guard Danielle Mills.
"We were really struggling mid 2nd qtr to get back to our defensive execution and Dani stepped into her moment and was productive," said Collins-Kiernan. "Every practice she challenges herself to play every possession as if it is for the Pac-West Championship, and that showed in her play today."
Mills was the calming presence that the Eagles needed, as they were able to stretch their lead to 19 heading into the break.
Mills, who had a career high in steals (5), also was the one who assisted VanderKlugt for her record setting basket.
"I'm so proud of Michaela, she's worked so hard this season and I'm grateful I was able to help her achieve this huge accomplishment," said Mills. "As for my defense, I'm really happy my defensive efforts paid off; getting steals makes the tough parts of defense worth it."
Not to be overshadowed, three other Eagles finished with double figures. Rachal finished with 17 on a very efficient 6-10 from the floor. Kennedy Fulcher, coming off an outstanding performance against Fresno Pacific University, recorded a double double. She finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Katie Timmerman went 3-4 from behind the three point line and finished with 11.
On a night where she was able to empty her bench, Collins-Kiernan was understandably happy with her team's performance and wants to continue to build off of their early success in PacWest play.
"I am happy for the team and their ability to string together some wins," said Collins-Kiernan. "That is a direct reflection of their work ethic and ability to play a very unselfish game on both defense and offense. If they can continue to trust each other and play their roles, we can continue to be productive."
The Eagles will be off for Christmas before heading north to play two games after the new year in the Bay Area.
