Women's Basketball Falls Short of Rival Bluffton

BLUFFTON, OHIO  --  The Defiance College women's basketball team was defeated by rival Bluffton University, 86-78, in a Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference game at the Sommer Center in Bluffton.

Sophomore forward Kelsey Tietje (Deshler/Patrick Henry) recorded yet another double-double with game-highs of 25 points and 18 rebounds.  She shot eight-of-20 (40.0 percent) from the field and an impressive nine-of-10 (90.0 percent) at the free-throw line.  Two other Yellow Jacket players scored in double figures in senior Megan Zachrich (Napoleon) scoring 13 points, including seven points at the charity stripe, and freshman guard Whitney Schalk (Bellevue) added 12 points.  Schalk and sophomore guard Erica Smay (Defiance/Tinora) both tallied a team-high five assists.

Defiance (4-10, 3-4 HCAC) trailed by a bucket early, but an 8-2 scoring run by Bluffton (10-4, 5-2 HCAC) gave the Beavers some breathing room with an eight-point advantage at the 15:11 minute mark.  The Yellow Jackets kept the deficit to within 10 points until the 10:49 mark when Bluffton recorded its first double-digit lead, 23-13, as part of a 5-0 mini run.  Defiance battled back to narrow the gap to five points shortly after and later pulled to within three points, 37-34, following a three-pointer by Schalk with 1:59 left in the period.  Tietje tallied the final points of the half on a layup that would get the Yellow Jackets to within three points again with a halftime score of 40-37.

After a jumper by Bluffton to begin the second half, sophomore guard Ashley Williams (Leipsic/Pandora-Gilboa) connected on a triple on DC's ensuing possession to make the score 42-40.  The Jackets stayed within striking distance until a 7-0 scoring run later in the half gave the Beavers their second double-figure lead of the game, 58-48, with 14:15 to go.  DC cut the Bluffton lead to single figures with a three-point play by sophomore guard Sharai Allen (Detroit, Mich.), but Bluffton then took control with an ensuing 7-0 run to widen the margin to 14 points, 65-51 with 11:39 remaining.  The Jackets made a final push down the stretch and fought their way back to trail by five points several times in the final minutes, including an 83-78 deficit with 29 seconds left.  Time was not on Defiance's side however, as Bluffton added three free-throws to seal an 86-78 victory.

Despite only shooting 23.1 percent (three-of-13) from long range, Bluffton made up for it by shooting an impressive 51.9 percent overall (27-of-52) and had five players score in double figures.  Taylor Knight finished with a team-high 17 points, followed by Mikayla Coburn with 15 points and Kaitlyn Pennekamp added 14 points.  Macey Sheerer scored 13 points and Brenna Kurilec rounded out the high scorers with 12 points.

Defiance will host Franklin (Ind.) College on Saturday, Jan. 17 in a HCAC doubleheader with the Yellow Jacket men's basketball team.  The women will take on the Grizzlies at 2 p.m. at the Karl H. Weaner Center, followed by the men against Franklin at 4 p.m.