Defiance drops Mount St. Joseph on New Year’s Eve for fifth straight win

DEFIANCE, Ohio - The Defiance College women's basketball team recorded a fifth straight victory and first win in conference play at the Weaner Center on Saturday afternoon by besting the Mount St. Joseph Lions, 55-39.

The Yellow Jackets (6-5, 1-3 HCAC) outscored the Lions (4-6, 1-2 HCAC) 16-4 in the fourth quarter by going 8-of-9 at the free throw line and holding MSJ to just one field goal (1-for-15), including 0-for-9 from long range during the final 10 minutes. Defiance did not convert a 3-point field goal but outrebounded the Lions, 47-44, and made more free throws (13-for-19) than MSJ attempted (7-for-10). Defiance shot 40 percent for the game, fueled by a 60 percent third quarter, while the Lions posted a 20 percent shooting percentage.

DC freshman Kalista Friday led Defiance with 14 points to go with six rebounds and three assists. Senior Taylor Steinbrunner posted 10 points for the Yellow Jackets, all in the second half, and pulled in a team-high eight boards. Mount St. Joseph got 14 points out of Ellie Oldendick while Morgan Jenkins grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds for the Lions.

Defiance scored the first four points of the game after buckets by Lexie Sparks and Kylie Brinkman but then failed to score over the following 5:42 while the Lions built a 10-4 lead. Taylor Day's first of six first-half points ended that drought with a layup at the three-minute mark in the first quarter. DC evened the score at 11-11 after the first when Nicole Sims knifed to the basket for a left-hand layup in the last minute of the period.

In the second quarter, MSJ scored the first six points to take a 17-11 lead before Defiance outscored the Lions 8-2 over the final 8:46 of the first half to head into the break tied at 19-19.

The back and forth continued in the third quarter but Defiance was dealt a big blow halfway through the third quarter when senior Lexie Sparks was injured defending a game-tying layup by Carlee Daulton. Sparks had a team-high nine points at the time and 7 of 10 Yellow Jacket points to start the second half. Following the lengthy injury timeout to cart Sparks off the court, Defiance finished the game by outscoring the Lions, 26-10.

The duo of Friday and Steinbrunner filled the void by each recording 10 points in the second half. Steinbrunner hit back-to-back shots to give Defiance the upper hand, 39-35, to close the third quarter before dropping in six more in the fourth.

Defiance returns to the court on Wednesday when they travel to rival Bluffton for a men's and women's doubleheader. The women's game starts the action at 6 p.m. followed by the men's contest at 8 p.m.

-JACKETS-