Yellow Jackets wallop Manchester on Wednesday behind 31-point night by Steinbrunner

NORTH MANCHESTER, Ind. – Defiance College women's basketball broke an eight-game losing streak in style by throttling Manchester, 90-63, on the road in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference play on Wednesday.

The 90 points by the Yellow Jackets (7-13, 4-10 HCAC) are the highest single-game total by DC's women's basketball program since November 30, 2016 with a 93-point performance against Olivet. The loss deals the Spartans (8-11, 6-8 HCAC) their sixth defeat over their last eight games played.

Taylor Steinbrunner recorded a career-best 31 points for the Yellow Jackets, just eight points shy of the program's single-game record of 39 by Lea Barrera in 2001. Steinbrunner recorded the first six points of the game on back-to-back 3-pointers following misses by Manchester. Part of an 18-8 start by the Yellow Jackets, Steinbrunner recorded 10 points in the first quarter that ended with Defiance leading Manchester, 24-13. 

Taylor Day recorded her second 20-point game of the season with a clean 20. Day and Steinbrunner recorded DC's first 18 points before Kalista Friday tallied the last six points of the opening quarter.

Defiance kept the hot shooting up throughout the first half and led 45-27 at the break while shooting 69 percent. Defensively, they held Manchester just 9-of-31 shooting. DC finished the game hitting 59 percent of their shots while the Spartans were a tick below 33 percent for the game. 

After posting 17 points in the first two quarters, Steinbrunner hit a flurry of shots in the third quarter over a two-and-a-half minute stretch to compile 14 markers in the third period alone as the Yellow Jacket lead grew to 26 entering the fourth quarter. After starting the third going 4-for-4 at the line, Steinbrunner hit a 3-pointer with 4:49 on the third quarter clock to make the score 60-40. The DC senior buried two more jumpers before a triple with 2:13 remaining in the third accounted for her final bucket of the contest.

Defiance's lead grew to as large as 30 points early in the third quarter to cap an 11-0 run. 

Friday finished with 12 points for Defiance. Aliza Clark recorded five points off the Jackets bench for a new career best. A total of 11 different players reach the scorer's column for Defiance in the wire-to-wire victory. Manchester did not have a player in double digits and was led with nine points from Hailee Kline.

The Yellow Jackets are back in action on Saturday at No. 2 Transylvania (20-0) with a 2 p.m. tipoff at the Beck Center in Lexington, Ky.

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