Women's Basketball Beats Otterbein For First Win of Season

HOLLAND, MICH.  --  Sophomore forward Kelsey Tietje (Deshler/Patrick Henry) scored game-highs of 22 points and 17 rebounds to lead the Defiance College women's basketball team to its first victory of the season, 72-62, against Otterbein University as part of the Hope (Mich.) College Tournament in Holland, Mich.

The Yellow Jackets shot an impressive 45.8 percent (22-of-48) overall from the field, including 50.0 percent (seven-of-14) from behind the three-point line and 70.0 percent (21-of-30) at the free-throw line.  Four players scored in double figures led by Tietje's 22 points and 17 boards whle shooting seven-of-10 (70.0 percent) from the floor and eight-of-10 (80.0 percent) at the charity stripe.  Senior guard/forward Megan Zachrich (Napoleon) was second in scoring with 17 points, followed by sophomore guard Erica Smay (Defiance/Tinora) with 16 points and added nine boards.  Twelve of Smay's 16 points came from long range as Smay made four-of-six triples.  Rounding out the high scorers was fellow sophomore guard Ashley Willams (Leipsic) with 11 points.

Defiance (1-2) opened the game with five straight points thanks to a bucket by Tietje and a three-pointer by Williams on its way to a 10-3 lead in the early minutes of the first half.  Otterbein (0-1) came right back with a pair of layups and later evened the score at 13-13 at the 11:38 minute mark.  The Cardinals claimed their first lead of the game just past the midway point of the period and built a four-point advantage, 21-17, with 7:57 left before halftime.  This time, DC mounted a charge of its own with a 14-2 scoring run that ended in a layup by Williams and gave the Jackets an eight-point lead, 31-23.  But momentum swung back over to the Cardinals as Otterbein answered the large run with an 11-1 run of its own to end the half and take a 34-32 lead into intermission.

In the second half, the two teams traded leads in the first 10 minutes with neither squad leading by more than four points.  Trailing by four points with 9:43 left to play, Zachrich connected on a layup that led to a 14-4 Defiance run and put the Jackets in excellent position for the win with a six-point margin, 63-57, with just under two minutes to go.  Following a triple by Otterbein to cut the deficit in half, DC then scored six straight points, all at the free-thow line, to extend the lead to 69-60 with 22 seconds remaining.  The Jackets added three more "freebies" in the final seconds to secure the 10-point, 72-62, victory.

Otterbein finished the game shooting 34.3 percent (24-of-70) from the field and was led in scoring by Chelsea Reed with 14 points and dished out six assists.  Amariah Huck was second with 12 points and Taylor Pifher added 10 points.  

Defiance will take on the winner of the Hope vs. Pitt-Bradford (Pa.) game tomorrow (Saturday, Nov. 22) at 3 p.m. in Holland, Mich.