Lady Jackets Soar Past Rose in Second Half

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The Lady Jackets got off to a slow start at Rose-Hulman on Saturday, but turned things around in the second half to claim a, 61-42, victory. Defiance has now won four consecutive conference competitions and sits just one game out of first place in the HCAC.

The Yellow Jackets were uncharacteristically careless with the ball in the opening period, nearly matching their season average in turnovers with 16 in the first half alone. Rose-Hulman took advantage, and Defiance found itself trailing, 24-11, at the 6:49 mark. Shavonda Price's layup with just under five minutes left in the period sparked a DC rally, including back-to-back three pointers by Price and Molly Bateman, that helped the Jackets close out the first half on a 12-3 run, and cut the deficit to just two points going into the break.

Defiance took much better care of the ball in the second half (seven turnovers), and claimed the lead, 32-31, just three minutes into the period. The Jackets never trailed after that point as they held the Engineers to just 15 points in the half. DC's bench continued to log productive minutes, outscoring the Engineers' bench, 16-0, in the second period, and posting more points than Rose's entire roster. The 61 points scored by Defiance matches a season low, but the 42 points allowed was a season-best for the Jackets' defense.

The trio of Shavonda Price, Mandie White and Tasha Stucke combined to record 37 of the Jackets 61 points and 19 of their 39 rebounds. After scoring 10 points in the contest, White is now just five points away from the 1,000 career points club. Freshman guard Rachel Ciminillo posted seven points in just 14 minutes of action, marking the second consecutive game she has scored a career-high. The win is the first true road victory for the Jackets this season.

The Lady Jackets will play at Anderson University (6-12, 5-4 HCAC) on Wednesday, Jaunary 27.  Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.