Tietje Dominant in DC Victory

ALMA, MICH. -- The Defiance College women's basketball team rebounded from their loss on Thursday to knock off Alma (Mich.) College, 64-57, in a non-conference matchup in Alma, Mich.

Defiance's (5-6) lone double-digit scorer was senior Kelsey Tietje (Deshler/Patrick Henry), as she scored a season-high 32 points on 13-of-16 shooting (81.3 percent) from the floor, as well as a perfect five-of-five from the free throw line. Tietje also finished the night with season highs in both rebounds (16) and blocked shots (five).

The Yellow Jackets finished the night shooting 46.2 percent (24-of-52) from the floor and 33.3 percent (seven-of-21) from beyond the arc. Alma (2-9), shot just 35.5 percent (22-of-62) from the floor and 23.5 percent (four-of-17) from deep. DC outrebounded the Scots, 43-32, but committed 19 turnovers, compared to Alma's eight.

Defiance opened the contest with a triple from Mekai White (Cincinnati/Winton Woods) and a lay-in by Erica Smay (Defiance/Tinora), but Alma came back with five straight points to tie the contest at 5-5. DC led, 9-7, before Tietje hit consecutive layups and free-throws, followed by free-throws from Whitney Schalk (Bellevue), gave DC a 15-7 lead late in the stanza. Alma added a bucket to make it 15-9 after one quarter of play.

The Scots rallied to tie the game at 17-17 in the second quarter when Smay hit a triple to give the lead back to DC. After the Scots split a pair of free-throws, the Yellow Jackets would score nine consecutive points including four points from Tietje and a triple from White that resulted in a 29-19 advantage for DC three minutes to play in the half. DC led, 31-24, when Smay and Tietje ended the half hitting a pair of threes, split by a jumper from the Scots, as DC held a 37-26 halftime edge.

The Scots cut the deficit to six points just two minutes into the scond half when two more Tietje layups and a deuce by senior Keri Conine (Ottawa/Pandora-Gilboa) gave DC their largest lead at 45-33. Alma battled back to get the game to within nine points at 49-40 to end the third quarter of action.

Alma opened the final quarter on a 7-0 run to get the game to within two points at 49-47 with 8:13 to play. DC responded with seven straight points of their own, five of them coming from Tietje, to go back up 56-47 with 6:31 left.  Alma cut the deficit to five points when Ashley Williams (Leipsic/Pandora-Gilboa) hit her lone triple of the contest, followed by another Tietje layup, that extended DC's lead to 10 points with 2:21 left, putting the game on ice, as Defiance brought home the seven-point win.

The Yellow Jackets return to Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference action on Wednesday, Jan. 4 as they hit the road to take on Anderson (Ind.) University in Anderson, Ind. The conference matchup is scheduled to tip-off at 7:30 p.m.