Yellow Jackets come up victorious against the Beavers

DEFIANCE, Ohio- Yellow Jacket fans saw an exciting 55-50 victory from the Defiance College women's basketball team over HCAC rival, Bluffton University, in the Karl H. Weaner Center on Wednesday night. 

The Yellow Jackets, who never trailed in the contest, led 11-8 after one quarter before stretching the advantage to 23-20 heading into the locker room at the half. Defiance was ahead, 40-31, at the end of the third quarter, before taking the biggest lead of the evening, up by eleven points just seconds into the fourth quarter. With minutes left in the game, the Beavers cut the Yellow Jacket lead to 3 points, but Nysha Speed (Sterling Heights, Mich. /L'Anse Creuse North) made a crucial layup to secure a 5 point lead and a 55-50 Yellow Jacket victory!

"I thought we executed offensively pretty well," said Head Coach Allan King Jr. "We had big possessions under the basket when we needed them, and Nysha Speed came up with a big bucket at the end to make it a 5 point game instead of a three, and that really helped us out." King added

From field, the Yellow Jackets knocked down 20 of 47 (42.6 percent) while the Beavers were 15 of 60 (25). Defiance outrebounded its guests, 40-33, tallying 13 offensive rebounds and 27 defensive boards. 

"The biggest story of the game is we played really good defense, except for you have to finish defensive possessions with a rebound, and we gave up 16 offensive rebounds." King added, "We have to do a better job taking care of the basketball, but our kids won the game on the defensive end."

For the Purple and Gold, freshman Lexie Sparks (Trenton, Ohio/Kings) tallied her fourth consecutive double-digit game recording 13 points in 18 minutes off the bench.  Taylor Steinbrunner (Beavercreek, Ohio/Beavercreek) added 11 points and was also credited with two assists. Senior Danielle Carruthers (New London, Ohio / New London) got in on the action recording 9 points, 6 rebounds, and season-high 3 blocks. 

Defiance moves to 4-7 overall and 3-2 in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference play. The Yellow Jackets are back in action on Saturday, Jan. 11, as they hit the road to play another HCAC game at Transylvania University. Tip-off is scheduled for 1:00 pm with the men's game to follow.