Early deficit too much to overcome for DC at MSJ

CINCINNATI, Ohio – Defiance College lost their seventh consecutive game with a 72-64 defeat at Mount St. Joseph during Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference women's basketball action on Tuesday.

Yellow Jackets (6-12, 1-9 HCAC) trailed by 10 after the first quarter after the Lions (9-8, 6-4 HCAC) drained four 3-pointers and closed the opening 10 minutes on a 9-2 run. Defiance clawed back to within six points by halftime but a see-sawing second half ended with that MSJ burst being the difference in the game.

While DC never led in the game, they kept the Lions within one possession as late as the three-minute mark of the first quarter following a Taylor Steinbrunner layup before an MSJ timeout. The Lions' Annabelle Williams got MSJ back in rhythm with a 3-pointer that sparked three more buckets to close the quarter after a missed shot and two Defiance turnovers. Taylor Day found a late basket to make it a 10-point game after one.

Mount St. Joseph knocked down their first two attempts of the second before Defiance called a timeout trailing by 16 at the 8:22 mark. Steinbrunner and Day hit back-to-back buckets that were answered by two made layups by Carlee Daulton. Karlee Mills sank a 3-pointer for MSJ at the 4:11 mark of the second before the Lions went cold from the field. Defiance rallied to score the final 12 points before halftime to capitalize on four MSJ turnovers and 0-for-6 from the floor to send the teams into the locker room with the score 39-33. 

MSJ grew their lead back out to 16 to start the third quarter and it swelled to as many as 20 with 6:33 left in the fourth. Defiance clawed their way back to finish the game on a 16-6 run. Key 3-pointers from the Yellow Jackets came from Lauren Criblez and Kylie Brinkman with a pair of makes to help make up ground in addition to four fourth-quarter points by Kalista Friday.

Defiance turned the ball over 25 times compared to Mount St. Joseph's 19, but the Yellow Jackets did win the battle of the boards, 31-28. MSJ shot 45 percent from the floor with nine 3-pointers while DC hit 52 percent of their shots on five made treys. 

Day paced Defiance in scoring with 17 points and also had a team-high six rebounds. Friday and Brinkman each tallied 11 points for the Jackets while McKenzie Cooper was close behind with eight markers. The Lions' top scorer was Anyiah Murphy with 17 and three triples while dishing out five assists. Carlee Daulton nearly missed a double-double on 10 points and nine rebounds.

The Yellow Jackets play their next game at home on Saturday with a noon tipoff against Hanover at the Weaner Community Center.

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