Early run drives Albion past Defiance on Monday

ALBION, Mich. – An 11-0 run in the first quarter aided Albion in scooting by Defiance College's women's basketball team, 70-57, in non-conference competition on Monday night.

Yellow Jackets (7-14) got off to a slow start by shooting just 23 percent in the first half and handed 11 turnovers to the Britons (14-7) over the first 20 minutes.

Defiance answered Albion's first basket of the game with a Taylor Steinbrunner 3-pointer and led 3-2. Taylor Day chipped in with a pair of early jumpers to help DC to a 3-for-4 start as the score sat 10-7 Albion halfway through the quarter. The Jackets then went cold from the floor by missing their next nine shots as the Britons ripped off on an 11-0 run before finishing the first quarter with a 22-9 lead.

The second quarter was just as tough to shoot for the Jackets, who went 3-for-13 again in the second with makes from Steinbrunner, Day and Nicole Sims. Albion entered the halftime break shooting 52 percent compared while the Yellow Jackets posted 9 of their 23 first-half points at the free throw line.

Albion scored the first six points of the second half before Defiance started to rally back. Cait Good knocked down back-to-back triples followed by a layup by McKenzie Cooper. Following an Albion timeout, Good connected on another 3 to bring Albion's game-high lead of 23 down to 12 on an 11-0 run. The Britons' Riley Davis knocked down a 3-pointer to end the rally but it was quickly answered on the other end by a triple from Cooper.

Despite the rally by DC in the third quarter, Albion's Cierra Cole hit a 3 to close to the quarter that carried over to a 9-2 start to the fourth for Albion before Good knocked down a triple with six minutes left. After the Britons' lead swelled back out to 19 points, the Jackets knocked down three 3-pointers over the final 4:30, two by Kalista Friday and one by Teagan Hunt, to draw the final spread to 13. Over the final two quarters, Defiance shot 50 percent from 3-point range (8-for-16) to outscore the Britons in each quarter.

Friday paced the Jackets with a game-high 15 points thanks to a 7-for-8 night at the free throw line. Good followed with 12 markers on four 3-point buckets behind eight by Day and seven for Cooper. Day and Friday each pulled in seven rebounds while Sims dished out six assists. Cole led Albion in scoring with 14 points on a trio of 3-pointers while Davis scored 11 on three 3s. Lolo Reed put up 12 of Albion's 34 points in the paint and secured a team-high six rebounds.

Out of Defiance's 18 makes from the floor, 10 were made from outside the arc. DC outrebounded Albion, 38-35, and committed just one more turnover (18 to 17). The Britons hit 48 percent of their shots and led for over 39 minutes. 

After playing 5 of 6 on the road, Defiance returns home for their next game on Wednesday against Anderson. Tipoff at the Weaner Center is set for 7:30 p.m.

-JACKETS-