WBB Preview: Defiance hosts Bluffton on Senior Night

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DEFIANCE, Ohio – The women's basketball season comes to a close for Defiance College on Friday night with a Senior Night showdown against rival Bluffton University. Tipoff at the Weaner Center is scheduled for 6 p.m. while senior recognition takes place around 5:45.

Defiance is 8-16 on the campaign while Bluffton is 15-8 and 10-7 in the HCAC, locking the Beavers into the fifth seed of the upcoming HCAC Tournament. The Yellow Jackets are coming off a 71-58 win at Earlham on Tuesday to snap a three-game slide and improve to 2-3 during the final month of the season. Bluffton has won their last three contests with a double overtime victory at Earlham followed by victories over Franklin and Manchester.

In the all-time series, Defiance leads the way with 74 victories to Bluffton's 29. However, the Beavers have won each of the last six matchups, including an 81-48 decision at Bluffton on January 4. In that game, Bluffton freshman Kyla Columber knocked down eight 3-pointers and scored 26 points during the rout.

Defiance seniors Lauren Criblez, Taylor Day, Nicole Sims, Taylor Steinbrunner and Lexie Sparks in addition to graduating third-year players McKenzie Cooper, Kylie Brinkman and Cait Good all suit up for the final time. Day leads DC with 10.8 points per game and is 49 shy of 1,000 for her career. Steinbrunner follows averaging exactly 10 points per night. Sims is just three assists and four rebounds shy of 200 each for her college career.

From a team perspective, the Yellow Jackets score 60.8 per game and allow 63.9 while Bluffton is one of the best defensive units in the Heartland by letting up just 58.3 points per game. The Beavers post an average of 63 points per game led by Morgan Smith at 13.6 per contest, the sixth-highest average in the conference and the HCAC's leading rebounder at 9.4 per game. Defiance shoots the basketball slightly better than Bluffton at 38 percent from the field compared to 37 percent for the Beavers while both schools are in the top three in free throw shooting.

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