Yellow Jackets Fall Just Short to #15 Transy

DEFIANCE, OHIO – The Defiance College Yellow Jackets gave the Transylvania (Ky.) University Pioneers all they wanted in the 16th Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference matchup of the year, but fell just short by a score of 70-62.

Before the game, Defiance College honored senior guard/forward Megan Zachrich (Napoleon) for her career as a Defiance College women's basketball player.  Zachrich is the lone senior on a team that, besides her, features just sophomores and freshmen.

Defiance College (9-14, 8-8 HCAC) outscored Transylvania (22-1, 16-0 HCAC), 43-32, in the second half but couldn't quite pull off the upset as Transy stays perfect in HCAC play.

DC struggled to get things going early, scoring just eight points in the first 13 minutes of the first half.  Six of those came from sophomore forward Kelsey Tietje (Deshler/Patrick Henry) while Zachrich added the other two points.  The Yellow Jackets found themselves down 32-8 with seven minutes remaining in the half.  Freshman guard Mekai White (Cincinnati/Winton Woods) and sophomore guard Ashley Williams (Leipsic/Pandora-Gilboa) hit back-to-back triples to cut the Transy lead down to 34-14 with just under six minutes left to play in the half.  DC's defense then stepped up in a big way, giving up just four points in the final five minutes.  Tietje was able to find five more points of her own over that span to get the deficit under 20 points at intermission, 38-19.

Tietje led the way for the Yellow Jackets at half with 11 points.  White and Williams both added a trey for three points apiece.

Freshman guard Whitney Schalk (Bellevue) blocked a Transy jumper to start the second half and took it coast-to-coast for the layup for the first points of the final 20 minutes.  Tietje connected on a jumper a short time later to keep Transy's lead under 20.  Williams then took part in DC's next 10 points.  She dished out two assists to Zachrich and Tietje who connected on jumpers.  Williams also put in two shots from downtown to help the Yellow Jackets cut the Transy lead to 13.  Over the next four minutes, Tietje made seven points and White added another two to keep the Pioneers lead at 13 points.  Zachrich made a layup, followed by Tietje connecting on a shot in the paint, followed by another Zachrich field goal.  Over that span, however, Transy stretched its lead out to 17 points with 7:34 to go in the game.  Williams and Zachrich connected on back-to-back shots from three point land to cut the lead to 11 with still five minutes left to play.  After three more points from Transy, sophomore guard Erica Smay (Defiance/Tinora) put in a jumper which Zachrich followed up with a pair of free-throws.  The Pioneers made a free-throw to get the lead back to 11 points when Zachrich found Smay for a triple at the 2:12 mark.  With the three point shot, DC cut the lead to under ten for the first time since 13:30 to go in the first half.  The senior leader hit another big shot a short time later, as Zachrich made a shot from beyond the arc with 90 seconds remaining to get the game within five points.  That would be as close as the Yellow Jackets got.  Transy made enough free-throws down the stretch to hold on for the win.  Tietje hit a put-back shot in the paint to mark the final score of 70-62.

Tietje led the Yellow Jackets in scoring with 22.  She also led the team in rebounds with seven.  Zachrich and Williams also got into double figures with 16 and 12, respectively.  Schalk dished out six assists for the second straight game to lead DC in that category.

The Yellow Jackets will play at home for the final time this season on Wednesday, Feb. 18 when they host HCAC rival Manchester (Ind.) University.  Start time is set for 7:30 pm.