DC's Winning Streak Comes to an End at Bluffton

BLUFFTON, Ohio – Defiance was unable to overcome a large second-half deficit, falling to Bluffton University, 78-69, on February 18. The loss drops DC to 9-15, while eliminating the Jackets from the HCAC Tournament hunt.

Tasha Stucke had big part in Defiance's early lead, playing a hand in 10 of DC's first 14 points to help the Jackets grab a five-point advantage, 14-9, in the opening eight minutes of the contest. Bluffton clawed its way back in front over the next nine minutes, before back-to-back layups by Jenna Deskins and Mandie White gave the lead back to Defiance, 23-22. However, DC would miss its final five shots from the field in the opening period, as the Beavers closed out the half with a 10-0 run to grab a 33-23 lead at the break.

Bluffton opened the final stanza on an 8-2 spurt to grab its largest lead of the day, 16 points, but Holly Stein's layup on the Jackets' next possession would ignite a 14-4 spread that cut the lead to six, 45-39, with 14 minutes left in the game.

The Beavers would answer with another big run, scoring on four of their next five possessions to push their lead back to 15, 54-39. DC was once again able to draw within six, 69-63, but Bluffton's nine points in the final two minutes put the game away.   

The difference in the contest came from the charity stripe, where Bluffton held an eight-point advantage over DC. Defiance shot 52.9 percent from the field in the second half, but could not fully recover from its 26.3 shooting in the opening period. The Jackets lost the battle of the boards, 46-35, while committing a season-low 11 turnovers in the contest.

White scored 19 points in only 20 minutes of action to lead all scorers. Stucke had a big night for DC, scoring 13 points and dishing out a season-high 10 helpers with no turnovers. Holly Stein was the only other Jacket reach double-figures, scoring 11 points on the night.

Defiance will wrap up its season on Saturday, February 21, when it travels to Franklin College for a 2:00 p.m. tip-off.