Women's Basketball Preview

DEFIANCE, OHIO – The Defiance College women's basketball team brings back plenty of experience as they make another push at a Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference title in 2016-17.

The Yellow Jackets finished with a 7-19 record overall last season and a 6-12 mark in HCAC play. This season, DC has been picked to finish sixth by the coaches in the preseason poll.

The Yellow Jackets bring back all five starters from a year ago, including the reigning conference Most Valuable Player in senior Kelsey Tietje (Deshler/Patrick Henry).

GUARDS

Defiance will return its entire backcourt this season in seniors Erica Smay (Defiance/Tinora), Ashley Williams (Leipsic/Pandora-Gilboa) and junior Whitney Schalk (Bellevue). All three players started all 26 games last year with Williams finishing third on the team in scoring a year ago, averaging 7.2 points per contest. Williams shot 62-of-176 from the floor overall (35.2 percent) and led the team with a 34.8 percentage from beyond the arc, making 54 of her 155 attempts. Williams was also second on the team with 57 assists (2.2 per game) and finished second in steals with 25.

Smay finished just behind Williams' mark from a year ago, averaging 6.7 points per game. Smay shot 31.1 percent from the floor (56-of-180) and 29.4 percent (37-of-126) from deep. Smay brought in 3.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists per contest, as well, for the Yellow Jackets.
Schalk was the team's starting point guard and led the conference in assists, averaging 5.8 per contest and finishing the year with 151, the fourth most in Defiance College history for assists in a season. Schalk also led the team with 33 steals. She also grabbed 87 rebounds (3.3 rpg.) and 91 points (3.5 ppg.).

In addition to the three returning starters, look for juniors Mekai White (Cincinnati/Winton Woods) and Brittany Osborne (Union City, Ind./Union City) to see their share of playing time off the bench. 
White had a solid second season with the Yellow Jackets, scoring 99 points (3.8 ppg.) and grabbing 34 rebounds (1.3 rpg.). White made 35-of-126 attempts, shooting 27.8 percent. Most of those shots were from beyond the arc, as White shot 28-of-108 for a 25.9 percent clip. White also finished with 18 assists on the year.

Osborne continues her role as a guard and forward in 2016-17. Osborne came off the bench to play in all 26 contests a year ago, scoring 78 points (3.0 ppg.) and bringing down 63 boards (2.4 rpg.). Osborne shot 28-of-72 from the field, (38.9 percent) and went seven-of-17 (41.2 percent) from three-point range. In addition, she converted 15-of-19 attempts from the free-throw line for a 78.9 percentage.

FORWARDS

The Yellow Jackets also bring back the bulk of their forwards from a season ago, including three-time first-team All-HCAC and reigning Player-of-the-Year in Tietje. As a junior, Tietje finished atop the HCAC in points per game (19.7) and rebounds per game (12.4). Tietje's 512 points was the second most points in a season in school history, and also brought her career total to 1,400. Tietje finished with 322 rebounds, leading the HCAC by nearly 100 rebounds and ranking her second in rebounds in a season in program history. Tietje also led the conference with 60 blocked shots. She ended the season with a 51.8 shooting percentage, making 183-of-353 attempts from the floor and was the conference leader in free-throw shooting, coverting 143-of-179 attempts (79.9 percent).

In addition to Tietje, sophomore Sam Ervin (Bloomdale/Elmwood) started all 26 in 2015-16. Ervin finished second on the team in scoring at 9.1 ppg and also added 132 rebounds (5.1 rpg.). She made 98-of-237 (41.4 percent) shots from the floor and 40-of-68 (58.8 percent) from the free-throw line. Ervin also added 13 assists, 10 blocks, and eight assists in her freshman season.

Senior Keri Conine came off the bench in all 26 games at the forward position last year. Conine scored 122 points (4.7 ppg.) on 46-of-140 shooting (32.9 percent). Conine also shot 12-of-41 (29.3 percent) from long range and 18-of-26 (69.2 percent) from the free-throw line. In addition, Conine added 63 rebounds (2.4 rpg.) to go along with 12 assists and seven steals.

SCHEDULE

Defiance will begin the 2016-17 season at the Penn State-Behrend Tournament in Erie, Pa. The Yellow Jackets open on Friday, Nov. 18 against the host Lions at 6 p.m. Defiance wraps up the tournament on Saturday, Nov. 19 as they take on the Waynesburg (Pa.) University Yellow Jackets at 1 p.m.

The Yellow Jackets then open the home portion of the schedule on Saturday, Dec. 3 as they begin a three-game homestand beginning with the Franklin (Ind.) College Grizzlies in the HCAC opener. That game is set to begin at 2 p.m.

"The expectations are high for this returning group of upperclassmen," said fifth-year Head Coach Jess Morris. "We've ended past seasons wishing we had done more, competed more, finished higher, and this year it's time to take all of those past frustrations and compete the way we know we're capable of. The excitement for this season within the team is high and comes with more maturity than we've seen in years. We look forward to what we'll be able to accomplish together. The time is now!"