Yellow Jackets Fall to Spartans at Home in HCAC Clash

DEFIANCE, Ohio – The Defiance College women's basketball team suffered its second-straight Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference home loss on Wednesday evening against Manchester, who won by a final of 61-48.

The Yellow Jackets methodically built a 6-0 lead in the first five minutes of the game, and then went cold from the field, as the Spartans answered with a 12-0 spurt over the next five minutes to grab a six point advantage.

A Marissa Kath triple cut the Spartan lead to 16-13 with 4:37 remaining on the clock in the first stanza, but unfortunately for the Purple and Gold, was the last made field goal DC would convert in the half. Manchester finished the frame with a 7-1 run to take a 23-14 lead into the break.

Senior Kim Comden scored the second half's first points with a jumper to trim the Spartan lead to seven at 23-16. Once again, Manchester responded with four-straight points of its own to grab its largest lead of the game at 27-16 with over 17 minutes remaining in the final frame.

Defiance tried to claw back into the contest but was unable to string any shots together to threaten the Spartans, as the Jackets never got the Manchester lead below seven points for the rest of the game. MU went on to win by a comfortable margin, as the final score ended at 61-48.

Leading the way for Defiance was Comden, who scored a game-high 22 points and hauled in six rebounds. Another member of the Purple and Gold with a notable performance was Kath, who finished with a career-high 13 points on 5-10 shooting from the field.

The loss drops Defiance's season record to 11-9 and its HCAC mark to 8-5, giving the Jackets a one-game lead over Manchester for fourth place in the conference standings. DC is back in action on Saturday, February 2, as the Yellow Jackets travel to Mount St. Joseph in an attempt to complete a season sweep of the Lions. Tip is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.