| File photo by Steve Herppich Photography |
Brian Morehouse became the fastest coach to reach 600 wins as No. 3 Hope quickly dispatched Olivet on Saturday afternoon, 76-27.
The game was never in doubt for No. 3 Hope which scored the first 13 points of the game and outscored the Comets 26-4 in the first quarter. The Flying Dutch's starting lineup played less than a half and still outscored Olivet by themselves, 42-28. Lauren Newman had 15 points on 5 for 6 shooting with two 3-pointers in 14 minutes.
Hope improved to 18-0, 9-0 in the MIAA while Olivet dropped to 4-14, 1-8.
Morehouse's win gives him a career mark of 600-90 in 24 seasons with the Flying Dutch. He is currently 10th among active Division III women's basketball coaches. He reached the 600-win mark in just 690 games, which was one game faster than Mark Campbell who took 691 games to win 600 at Union University, a Division II school in Tennessee.
Under Morehouse, the Flying Dutch have won the MIAA outright 10 times and shared the title another four times. Hope has won at least 30 games three times and at least 20 games every season but his first two. Hope has appeared in the NCAA Tournament 18 times, including a national championship in 2006. The 1991 Hope graduate also guided his alma mater to the national semifinals in 2010.
Hope has appeared in the D3hoops.com Top 25 rankings 280 times since the poll's inception in 1999, including the Flying Dutch's current No. 3 ranking. That is more than any other Division III basketball program, men's or women's. Hope has appeared in every poll but one since the start of the 2005-06 season and has appeared in 101 consecutive polls, which is the third longest active streak behind Amherst and current No. 1 Tufts.
The Flying Dutch will head to Albion (15-3, 7-2 MIAA) on Wednesday, Jan. 29.