Women's basketball tallies midweek victory

DEFIANCE, Ohio – The Defiance College women's basketball team returned to action on a wintery Wednesday evening. The Yellow Jackets welcomed Manchester University to the Karl H. Weaner Center for a Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference bout, which saw DC take home a 64-51 win.

After a tight first quarter, a second-quarter spark by way of Liz Martin (Bellefontaine/Bellefontaine) set the Yellow Jacket offense in motion. Martin tallied eight of her 11 points in the second period of action as she shot 75 percent from the floor in the quarter. Her fellow teammates matched the senior's number and sent DC into halftime with a 24-13 advantage.

"It took until the second quarter for us to really get it going," said Head Coach Allan King, Jr. "Liz was huge coming off the bench for us and recording a big second quarter."

The Yellow Jackets did not let up coming out of the locker room. Behind a 44 percent shooting mark, Defiance scored 21 points in the third period. A Briana Townley (Paulding/Paulding) three as time wound down sent the side into the break with a 19 point advantage.

The Spartans added a little pressure in the fourth quarter as they cut into the lead with a 41 percent mark from the floor. Down the stretch, DC found their way to the charity stripe and solidified the conference victory.

DC edged Manchester in most statistical categories, none bigger than rebounds. Defiance reeled in 50 boards compared to the Spartan's 30, a performance that did not go unnoticed by the coaching staff.

"We got to the free-throw line a lot from offensive rebounds," said King. "Those second possessions were huge. Josi Wolf (LaRue/Elgin) had four offensive boards and most of her points off of those boards."

Offensively, the Yellow Jackets finished with a 33.9 percent (20-of-59) mark from the floor including seven triples along the way. Fifteen of the Purple and Gold's points came from second-chance opportunities.

A team-high 17 points from Taylor Day (West Mansfield/North Union) led the Yellow Jacket attack. Martin and Wolf each chipped in double-digit performances with 11 and 10 points respectively.

"Taylor was exactly who we needed her to be tonight," mentioned King. "She defended their best perimeter player, grabbed rebounds, and had 17 points based on her relentless effort."

The Yellow Jackets improve to 7-13 on the year and 6-7 in the HCAC with the midweek win. DC will return to action Saturday as they head to Cincinnati for clash with Mount St. Joseph beginning at 4:00 pm.