Defiance Second Half Surge Carries Jackets Past Quakers

DEFIANCE, Ohio – The DC women's basketball team extended its home winning streak to seven games on Wednesday evening with a 66-57 win over Earlham College. The Jackets used a 41-point second half to record the come-from-behind victory, as the Purple and Gold outscored the Quakers by 16 in the final frame.

Defiance did not get off to a good start in the contest, as Earlham jumped ahead from the opening tip with an 8-2 lead after four minutes of action. The Jackets quickly responded with a 7-0 spurt to grab an early 9-8 advantage.

The two squads battled back-and-forth throughout most of the half, with neither team able to build a sturdy lead. After a layup from Quaker guard Kiara Scott knotted the score at 25-25 with 4:27 left until the half, Earlham reeled off seven-straight points to finish the half on a 9-0 run and take a 32-25 lead into the break.

The seven-point halftime deficit marked only the second time all season that the Purple and Gold were trailing at the intermission in a home contest. The Yellow Jackets were led by Erica King and Kim Comden, as each player scored eight points and shot 60 percent or better from the field.

Earlham came out of the halftime break and quickly knocked down a three-pointer to open up a double-digit lead at 35-25, its largest of the night.

The shot seemed to wake up the Jackets, as DC stormed back over the next two minutes and put together a 9-0 stretch that cut the lead to one at 35-34 with 17 minutes left in the game. In the run, King connected from distance and then Comden scored six straight to bring the Jackets back.

Over the next eight minutes, the two sides exchanged buckets and the lead until a Megan Zachrich jumper tied the game at 44-44. The field goal was the beginning of a 10-0 spurt that opened up an eight-point advantage for the Purple and Gold, a lead that they would not relinquish the rest of the evening.

The Yellow Jacket lead got as low as four, after two free throws from Earlham's Kasin Spay with just over five minutes left in the game, but DC countered with nine unanswered points of its own to avert the Quaker threat. The Purple and Gold converted enough free throws in the waning minutes to close out the game with a comfortable 66-57 victory.

Defiance used a balanced offensive attack to defeat the Quakers, as three Yellow Jackets reached double figures in the scoring column for the fifth time this season. Comden led all players with 18 points, while adding six rebounds and four blocks. Zachrich poured in 15 points, her third game of 10 or more points in her last four outings, and King finished the game with 12 points and four rebounds.

The come-from-behind victory marked the first time all season that the Jackets have won a game when trailing at the half and extends DC's home winning streak to seven games, with five coming in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference play. The win improves the Purple and Gold's conference record to 7-2 and moves its overall mark to 10-6.

Defiance is back in action on Saturday, January 19, as the team travels to Hanover for a conference showdown with Hanover. The Jackets defeated the Panthers in the first game this season in an 85-80 overtime thriller inside the Hive. The rematch is slated to begin at 1:00 p.m.