Late lead slips away from Defiance in loss to Miami-Hamilton

DEFIANCE, Ohio – Defiance College led Miami-Hamilton by as many as seven points in the fourth quarter but the Harriers rallied past the Yellow Jackets over the final eight minutes to leave the Weaner Center with a 62-59 win on Saturday.

The Yellow Jackets (6-9, 1-6 HCAC) held a 49-44 lead after three quarters by outscoring the Harriers (9-9) 32-22 in the two middle quarters. The loss is a season-high fourth in a row for Defiance.

Taylor Day scored the last of her team-best 15 points to start the fourth quarter to get Defiance up by seven. Miami-Hamilton then took off on an 11-3 run to take a one-point lead. Nicole Sims found a layup to lift the Jackets to up by one but was immediately answered on a 3-pointer by Laci Reinhart of the Harriers. 

The teams traded free throws over the next minute to bring the score to 60-58 Miami-Hamilton with 1:43 remaining. After the Harriers missed a 3-pointer, Day missed a jumper on the other end that was grabbed by Miami-Hamilton. Taylor Steinbrunner swiped the ball back for Defiance moments later to trigger a timeout by the Jackets. Out of the timeout, Defiance found Cait Good for an open look for three, but the shot didn't fall. Reinhart picked up the rebound plus a foul by Sims to send the Harriers back to the free throw line with eight second on the clock. She missed both shots and DC used their final stoppage with seven ticks left. 

Looking to tie the game, Kylie Brinkman was fouled in the paint and split the free throws to follow to bring Defiance within one. Defiance was short on time and points at that point as a foul by Day led to two more Miami-Hamilton free throws to push the final spread to three points.

It turned out to be a slow start and finish for Defiance after falling behind 27-17 early in the second quarter after the Harriers posted the first five points of the second quarter to open up the game's largest lead. Minutes later, Defiance trailed 30-21 with 5:34 remaining before taking off on a 12-0 to gather the lead with just over a minute left in the first half.

Kalista Friday got that rally started for DC with a jumper followed by consecutive makes by Lexie Sparks. On the second make, Sparks turned a layup into a 3-point play thanks to a Miami-Hamilton foul to pull Defiance within two. The Harriers went one-and-done on their offensive end, Sparks grabbed the rebound and found Cait Good for a go-ahead triple. After trading baskets at the end of the second, Defiance took a 35-34 lead into the break.

Day and Steinbrunner led Defiance through the third quarter by scoring 13 of 14 points. Day hit a pair of shots inside to erase a brief four-point deficit. Miami-Hamilton answered back before Steinbrunner knocked down a go-ahead 3-pointer halfway through the quarter. Following a go-ahead trifecta by Reinhart, Steinbrunner sank another triple to put Defiance ahead 46-44. A layup by Day and Good made free throw put Defiance ahead by five entering the fourth quarter.

Day posted a game-high 15 points and grabbed six boards for Defiance while Cait Good and Lexie Sparks joined her in double figures with 11 and 10 points respectively. Sparks led all players with eight rebounds. Steinbrunner totaled nine points with seven in the third quarter.

Defiance finished shooting 39 percent from the floor and evened the Harriers with six made 3-pointers. DC won the battle on the boards 42-40. One of the biggest factors in the three-point loss was the Jackets going 9-for-18 at the free throw line despite entering the game leading the HCAC in team free throw percentage. A'Vonna Kinsey led Miami-Hamilton with 14 points and seven rebounds.

Defiance returns to action on Wednesday for a home conference game against Earlham. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at the Weaner Center.

-JACKETS-