Women's basketball falls short at Bluffton despite strong second half

BLUFFTON, Ohio – With four teams, including Defiance and Bluffton, locked at 6-10 in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference standings, the Yellow Jackets traveled south to take on the Beavers in a pivotal league clash. After falling in an early hole, DC fell short as Bluffton prevailed 75-67.

"We competed extremely hard," said Head Coach Allan King, Jr. "Unfortunately, we dug into a big hole early."

A slow start from the Purple and Gold allowed Bluffton to push to a 23-10 lead after the first ten minutes of action. Behind 20 points, including six from DC leading scorer Nicole Sims (Camden/Preble Shawnee), the Yellow Jackets cut into the Beaver lead as the hosts entered the half with a 40-30 advantage.

A close third period saw DC tally a 41.7 percent (5-12) mark from the field, including a quarter-high seven points from Kalyn Pickens (Fort Wayne, Ind./R. Nelson Snider).

The Yellow Jackets ultimately outscored Bluffton in the second half of play, but the comeback was not enough as the Beavers held on to the home win.

"We had a strong second half," added King. "We just couldn't get the big stops all night."

As a team, the Purple and Gold tallied a 47.9 percent mark from the field and a 46.7 percent tally from beyond the arc, outshooting the Beavers in both categories. Turnovers wounded the Yellow Jacket offense. While committing 14, the Yellow Jackets were only able to record three takeaways from the Beavers.

Sims' 11 points, her second-highest output of the season, led the way for DC. The freshman also tallied five assists over her team-high 30 minutes.

Taylor Day (West Mansfield/North Union) and Briana Townley (Paulding/Paulding) followed close behind Sims as the duo recorded ten points each. Townley threw in a team-best eight rebounds in the affair.

Defiance falls to 7-17 overall and 6-11 in HCAC play after the defeat. DC will hit the road one last time during the 2020 regular season as they take on Franklin College on Saturday. Tip-off in the season finale is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.