DC Wins Thriller at Home

DEFIANCE, OHIO – Freshman guard Whitney Schalk (Bellevue) hit the game-winner with just eight seconds remaining as Defiance College won a huge game over Rose-Hulman (Ind.) Institute of Technology in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference play.

With the win, the Yellow Jackets (7-12, 6-6 HCAC) move into a three-way tie in conference play with Rose (10-9, 6-6 HCAC) and Manchester (Ind.) University.

DC came out hot, putting together a 16-6 lead over Rose ten minutes into the game.  Sophomore guard Ashley Williams (Leipsic/Pandora-Gilboa) began the run with her first of four three-pointers less than 50 seconds into the game.   Sophomore forward Kelsey Tietje (Deshler/Patrick Henry) followed that up with a jumper in the lane to make the score 5-2.  Schalk made a pair of free-throws, followed by Williams' second made shot from downtown.  Another Tietje layup pushed the lead out to eight points.  Sophomore guard Sharai Allen (Detroit, Mich.) and sophomore forward Keri Conine (Ottawa/Pandora-Gilboa) hit back-to-back field goals to give DC the 16-6 lead with 10:37 remaining in the first half.  Tietje scored the next six points for DC over a five minute span.  She connected on one field goal and four free-throw attempts.  Sophomore guard Erica Smay (Defiance/Tinora) made a jump shot to give DC the 24-19 lead with three minutes left in the first half.  Senior guard/forward Megan Zachrich (Napoleon) cashed in her first jumper with two minutes to go to give DC the 26-21 lead.  Tietje made the remaining two points from the free-throw line, but Rose battled back to tie things up with a halftime score, 28-28.

Tietje led the way in the first half, with a game-high 12 points in the first 20 minutes.  Williams added six points to DC's halftime total.

Neither team led by more than six points in the second half as the game stayed tightly contested the last 20 minutes.  Williams started off the second half much like she did the first, with back-to-back three pointers to give DC the two-point lead.  Tietje put in a free-throw which was followed by a Schalk three-pointer to extend the Yellow Jackets lead to four points, 38-34.  Tietje, Zachrich, and Smay all put in a field goal to keep the steady pace ahead of Rose, leading 44-41 with nine minutes left in the ballgame.  Tietje and Schalk combined for the next five points, Tietje with a field goal and two free-throws and Schalk added another point from the charity stripe.  Rose then went on a run to extend its lead to 55-49 with under two minutes to go in the game.  Smay found Zachrich just inside the three-point line for a jumper to cut the lead to four points.  Schalk made one-of-two free-throws with 90 seconds left the cut the Rose lead to 55-52.  Williams came up with a steal on the ensuing Rose possession to give DC a shot to tie it.  The Yellow Jackets took that shot, trying to tie it up from three-point land but couldn't find the range.  Tietje came up with a big rebound off the miss to cut the lead to just one with 43 seconds to play.  DC forced another turnover with 16 seconds remaining to gain possession of the ball down one points.  That is when Schalk set the offense. Not seeing anything she liked, she made a move to the basket and finished the tough layup with the left hand to give DC the lead for good.  The Yellow Jackets would take the big 56-55 HCAC victory.

Tietje led the way once again for DC, finishing with a game-high 21 points and nine rebounds, narrowly missing her ninth straight double-double.  Williams joined Tietje in double figures with 12 points.  Schalk ended the game with nine points and three assists.  Zachrich played a strong game, leading the team in both assists and steals with four in each category.

The Yellow Jackets move into a three-way tie for fifth place in the HCAC with six games left for each team to play.  The top six teams advance to the conference tournament.

DC will travel to Anderson, Ind. for the next HCAC matchup against Anderson University on Wednesday, Feb. 4.  Game time is set for 7:30 p.m.