Women's basketball drops home contest to Franklin

DEFIANCE, Ohio- The Defiance College women's basketball team played host to Franklin College on Saturday afternoon for a Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference matchup. Before the contest, both sides sat 2-1 in the HCAC standings, and the Grizzlies prevailed beating the Yellow Jackets 77-64.

At the half, Defiance trailed Franklin by 9 points, and the Grillzes continued to extend their lead into the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, the Yellow Jackets outscored the away side 25-19, but the deficit sought too much for Defiance suffering a tough 77-64 loss. 

Head Coach Allan King Jr. said, "The biggest thing we have to do is to continue to improve. We had moments where we played really well and other moments where we turned the ball over. " King adds, "The biggest thing is we need to take care of the basketball and handle the pressure."

Defensively for the Yellow Jackets Kalyn Pickens (Fort Wayne, Ind. / R. Nelson Snider ) stood out tonight. Coach King said, "Kalyn Pickens played solid defense for us tonight and did a good job of breaking their pressure when she came in and handled the ball well."

Offensively, Taylor Day (West Mansfield, Ohio / North Union) led the way for the Yellow Jackets with 11 points and 8 rebounds. Freshman Lexie Sparks (Trenton, Ohio / Kings) had a strong showing for Defiance as well with 11 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists. Sparks finished her third consecutive game with double digit points.  

As a team, Defiance shot 32.8 percent (19-of-58) from the floor as compared to Franklin's 49.2 percent. The Yellow Jackets did find their way to the foul line throughout the contest, finishing 21-29 (72.4 percent) from the line. 

Defiance moves to 2-2 in the HCAC and 3-8 overall. The Purple and Gold will be back in action in the Karl H. Weaner Center on Wednesday, January 8, as they play host to HCAC rival Bluffton. Tip-off is set at 6:00 pm with the Defiance College men's basketball game to follow at 8:00 pm.