Lady Jackets Defeat First-Place Franklin

DEFIANCE, Ohio – Defiance continued its home court dominance on Saturday afternoon, defeating the previously first-place Franklin Grizzlies, 81-63. The Yellow Jackets improve to 4-3 in the HCAC with the win and have now won nine of their ten home games this season.

Franklin took the early lead, feeding the ball to their leading scorer, Heather Harper, who scored four of their first five field goals, to put the Grizzlies up, 10-6, at the 16:10 mark. The Jackets would hold Harper to just two points for the remainder of the half, however, and found themselves leading by six with three minutes remaining in the period. From that point, DC erupted with a barrage of trifectas, knocking down six three-pointers in less than two minutes, as they took a 46-31 lead into the break.

The Jackets continued to pour it on in the second half, building their lead to as much as 26 points at the 7:47 mark.  Defiance built its lead by dominating the turnover battle, forcing 36 turnovers while committing only 12, and recording a season-high 27 steals while surrendering just three steals to the Grizzlies. Tasha Stucke was the only player on DC's roster to play over 20 minutes in a game that saw four Yellow Jackets score in double figures and 13 players record at least one point.

Courtney Schmersal led the team with 14 points on 5-of-15 shooting. Tasha Stucke recorded 11 points to go along with five assists and four steals. Mandie White recorded ten points, seven rebounds and five steals, while Shavonda Price continued to stuff the stat sheet with ten points, 12 rebounds, six steals and two blocks.

The Lady Jackets will host the Bluffton Beavers (5-10, 2-5 HCAC) on Wednesday, January 20, with the tip-off scheduled for 7:30 p.m.