Shooting Woes Haunt Yellow Jackets

DEFIANCE, OHIO  – The Defiance College women's basketball team wasn't able to find the range, as they fall to Albion (Mich.) College, 65-53, in a non-conference game at the Karl H. Weaner Center.

The Yellow Jackets (0-2) had trouble finding the basket, as they shot just 33 percent from the field.  The hardnosed Yellow Jackets kept playing hard though, battling the Britons (2-0) to the final whistle.

Sophomore forward Kelsey Tietje (Deshler/Patrick Henry) began the game like she did last game, with a bucket in the lane as sophomore guard Erica Smay (Defiance/Tinora) found her sophomore buddy in the paint.  Things went from good to better for DC as the Yellow Jackets scored 12 of the game's first 16 points.  Sophomore guard Ashley Williams (Leipsic/Pandora-Gilboa) added a three shortly after Tietje's opening bucket.  Williams then found Tietje in the paint for an old fashioned three-point play.  Senior guard/forward Megan Zachrich (Napoleon) and Smay then added back-to-back layups to push DC's lead to 12-4 just four minutes into the game.

Tietje, Zachrich, and sophomore forward Keri Conine (Ottawa/Pandora-Gilboa) then teamed up to score the next 13 points for DC over the next six minutes.  DC held a 25-23 lead at that point.  The Yellow Jackets shooting then went cold as they were only able to find eight points the remainder of the half.  The Britons took advantage and were able to net 16 points to end the period and went into the break with a 39-33 lead.

For the fourth time this season, Tietje was once again able to convert on DC's first possession of the half, finding a jumper in the lane with a helper from freshman guard Whitney Schalk (Bellevue).  A short time later, Williams and Zachrich cashed in on back-to-back three pointers to cut the Albion lead to 44-41 with over 16 minutes remaining.  A 7-0 Albion run was stopped by yet another Williams three point shot.

DC didn't find a point for over the next four minutes when Zachrich found Tietje down low for yet another old fashioned three-point play.  DC still had Albion within striking distance as the score then stood at 53-47 in favor of the away squad with 9:18 remaining in the game.  The Yellow Jackets then endured another four minute scoring drought which allowed Albion to widen the gap.  Zachrich put a stop to this run with a lay-in at the 5:22 mark, but DC trailed 60-49.  The Yellow Jackets found a couple more buckets in the last five minutes to mark their final 53 points as they fell to Albion by 12 points, 65-53.

Tietje led all scorers with 19 points and had her second double-double of the season as she added 10 rebounds.  In addition, she also added two steals.  Williams chipped in with 12 points on four three-pointers and Zachrich also got into double figures with 11 points.  Schalk led the guard play with six assists.  In addition, Zachrich added three steals on the defensive end.

Defiance will play its next two games on the road as part of the Hope (Mich.) College Tournament in Holland, Mich. on Friday-Saturday, Nov. 21-22.  The Yellow Jackets with take on Otterbein University on Friday with tip-off scheduled for 5:30 p.m.