Lady Jackets Struggle in Final Day of Centre Tournament

DANVILLE, Ky. – After a tough 55-51 loss on Friday to the 14th ranked team in the nation in Thomas More to open the season, Defiance was back in action on Saturday afternoon for the final day of the Centre Tournament. The Jackets were overwhelmed by No. 27 Centre from the start and lost by a score of 78-42.

DC and Centre traded a pair of buckets to begin the game, as an Erica King three tied the game at 5-5 two minutes into the contest. Then the Colonel offense went on a torrid 29-2 run over the next 12 minutes to break the game wide open at 34-7.

The Yellow Jackets played right with Centre for the rest of the first half, but the damage had already been done and DC found itself down 45-16 at the break. Centre built its lead by shooting a blistering 66.7 percent from the field, knocking down 16-24 attempts including connecting on 5-6 from distance.

The Colonels scored the first five points of the second half to push the lead to 50-16. Despite their best efforts, the Jackets were unable to make a second half surge and fell to 0-2 on the season with the loss.

The Purple and Gold was led by Megan Zachrich for the second time in as many days, as the guard scored 17 points for DC. The sophomore recorded a field goal percentage of over .500 for the second consecutive game and went a perfect 3-3 from the free throw line. The other Yellow Jacket to record double figures in the scoring column was King, who hit three shots beyond the arc and finished with 11 points.

Zachrich and King were named to the Centre Tournament All-Tournament team for their standout performances over the weekend.

Defiance returns to the Karl H. Weaner Community Center for its season-opener on Tuesday, November 20, as the Jackets host #12 Hope at 7:00 p.m.