DC Gets Thrilling Road Win, White Eclipses 1,000 Career Points

Anderson, Ind. – Defiance showed great resiliency on Wednesday night, pulling out a thrilling, 77-68, overtime win on the road in a crucial conference game against Anderson. The win moves the Yellow Jackets (13-6, 7-3 HCAC) into a tie with Hanover for third place in the HCAC.

After giving up the first basket of the game to Anderson's Lauren Liesure, Defiance clamped down, going on a 12-2 run, that put the Jackets up by eight at the 15:55 mark. Momentum would quickly change, however, as the Jackets offense stalled and the Ravens went on an extended 19-to-five run, consisting primarily of layups, which left the Jackets trailing by six midway through the opening half. Defiance scored the next five points of the game to cut the deficit to one point with seven minutes remaining in the period, but the Ravens would close out the half on a 16-to-four run, and the Jackets went into the break trailing by 12.

Mandie White found her 1,000th career point at the 17:50 mark in the second half, on a layup that cut the Raven's lead to ten points. However, the Ravens would continue to pour it on, eventually claiming their largest lead of the game, a 16-point advantage, with 12:43 left on the clock. Courtney Schmersal's three-pointer 17 seconds later sparked a Yellow Jackets' rally, in which Defiance outscored the Ravens 19 to five, that concluded with White's layup cutting the deficit back down to two points with just under seven minutes remaining.

The Ravens went on to score the next six points of the game, and sat on a 65-57 lead with 4:56 left in the game. From that point, Defiance would hold the Ravens scoreless for the remainder of regulation, and closed on an 8-0 run, that left the teams locked in their first tie of the game as the clock ticked down to zero.

In overtime, the Jackets scored the first seven points, and held the Ravens without a field goal for the entire period, as DC ran away with the 77-68 victory. The nine point cushion was a rather anticlimactic finish to an otherwise thrilling competition.

White finished the game with 13 points, seven rebounds and a game-high four steals. She now has 1,008 points in her career at DC, ranking 17th all-time with six games left on the regular-season schedule. Shavonda Price led the Jackets in scoring, posting 15 points on seven-of-11 shooting, to go along with seven rebounds. Courtney Schmersal broke out of her two-game slump, posting 12 points, including four-of-five from beyond the arc, while matching her season-high with four assists.

The Lady Jackets return to the Weaner Center on Saturday for a critical conference matchup when the third-place Panthers of Hanover College (13-5, 7-3 HCAC) come to town. Tip-off is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.