Jackets Move into Second Place with Seventh Straight Win

N. MANCHESTER, Ind. – The Lady Jackets recorded their seventh-straight conference win on Wednesday night, defeating Manchester on the road, 67-59, to improve their conference record to 9-3. With the win, the Jackets become the second team to clinch a spot in the HCAC Tournament, and sit just half of a game behind first-place Franklin for the top spot.

After losing their first five road games of the season, the Jackets have turned it around recently, having won three straight road games during their seven-game winning streak. The Yellow Jackets have outscored their opponents in the second half by double-digits in each of their last three road wins, and have posted an outstanding 117-to-60 point differential during that time period.

After going down 3-0 to start the game, a Tasha Stucke three-pointer sparked a 9-0 Yellow Jackets' rally that saw Defiance take a six-point advantage five minutes into the first period. Molly Bateman's trifecta with 5:51 on the clock put DC up by eight, but Manchester's Kelsey DeMott answered right back with a three of her own, and the Spartans ended the half on a mini run that found DC trailing by two at halftime. The Jackets were dominant down low in the first half, outscoring the Spartans by a margin of 16-to-4 in the paint.

The Spartans carried the momentum from their late first half run into the second period, jumping out to a 35-29 lead at the 15:39 mark. After two free-throw shots from Mandie White cut DC's deficit to four with 15:29 on the clock, Brooke Zachrich nailed a three-pointer while getting fouled and hit the free-throw to tie the game up, 35-35, with just less than 15 minutes to play. Zachrich's play proved to be the momentum shifter as the Lady Jackets never trailed after that point and built their lead to as much as 10 on their way to an eight-point victory.

The Jackets frustrated the Spartans all night with their full-court press, forcing Manchester into 22 turnovers in the game while committing just 12 turnovers of their own. Defiance also did a nice job near the basket, outscoring the Spartans 28-to-12 in the paint. DC center Mandie White led all scorers with 25 points, on 9-of-13 shooting, and has now averaged 20 points per game over her last five contests.

The Lady Jackets will return to the Karl H. Weaner Center on Saturday, February 6, for their final home game of the season against Transylvania. The crucial HCAC clash, which will feature both the "Pink Zone" cancer awareness initiative as well as DC's senior day, is set to begin at 1:00 p.m.