Defiance hangs with Hanover but Panthers pull away late

DEFIANCE, Ohio – Defiance College played tough against the second-ranked team in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference but the Hanover Panthers scored the game's last 11 points to secure a 67-55 victory at the Weaner Center on Saturday.

The Yellow Jackets (6-13, 3-10 HCAC) and Panthers (12-5, 11-1 HCAC) shot a virtually identical 37 percent from the field, but Hanover hit 21-of-27 free throw attempts and converted 20 DC turnovers into 16 points. 

Down six points at the start of the fourth quarter, Kylie Brinkman and Kalista Friday hit 3-pointers for Defiance to trim Hanover's lead down to two at the 8:10 mark of the final quarter. With Hanover leading 56-52 inside of four minutes left, Defiance's Taylor Day fought through low-post contact to score a layup and hit the ensuing free throw after a foul was called against the Panthers.

That bucket brought Defiance within one but it turned out to be their final score of the game as Hanover went on to make three layups and five free throws to swell the final spread to 12. Hanover went 5-for-8 at the line in the final minute of play and was 8-for-12 in the fourth quarter while DC made 7-of-10 at the line for the game.

During the first quarter, Hanover built an early 15-8 lead before Defiance rallied back to score the last six points of the quarter. The Yellow Jackets carried that momentum into the second quarter and held the lead for just over three minutes following a two-point jumper by Lexie Sparks with eight minutes left in the half. 

Hanover regained the lead on a three-point play by Katherine Benter following a transition layup. Benter struck again for a left-side 3-pointer with two minutes left in the second to push Hanover ahead 28-23. After trading layups in the final minute, Hanover led 30-25 at the break.

The third quarter was back-and-forth but Hanover expanded their lead to eight on consecutive made jumpers by Kady Clancy. Taylor Day and Lauren Criblez hit consecutive layups to cut their lead down to four points with four minutes left in the quarter. Hanover expanded their advantage back to eight at the end of the quarter before Taylor Steinbrunner hit a late layup to close the third.

Friday led Defiance in scoring with 15 points and pulled in seven rebounds. McKenzie Cooper also secured seven boards for DC while posting two points. Day and Steinbrunner each recorded nine points for the Jackets. For Hanover, Clancy was the top scorer with 17 followed by Benter's 16 points and nine boards.

The loss dropped Defiance to 0-8 in the month of January since winning a New Year's Eve home contest. The Yellow Jackets return to action on Wednesday at Manchester with a 7:30 tipoff, which begins a three-game road swing.

-JACKETS-