King explodes for 31 as Hiram pulls away in second half

DEFIANCE, Ohio – Defiance College sophomore forward Zadria King doubled her career-high in scoring with 31 points on Monday night but the Hiram Terriers sank the Yellow Jackets, 88-71, at the Karl H. Weaner Center.

DC led for the majority of the first half before the Terriers took the upper hand for good with 1:36 remaining in the second quarter. Hiram's victory was their first of the season in their third time on the court while the Yellow Jackets fell to 0-6 and both squads recorded season-best outputs in points scored.

Defiance's King matched her former career high of 15 points in just two quarters of action thanks to a trio of 3-pointers over the first 20 minutes. King was the only Jacket in double figures and finished with five triples and a team-high six rebounds. On the flip side for Hiram, Brooke Hickman, the program's only All-NCAC player from last season, stuffed the stat sheet with 19 points and 19 rebounds.

TURNING POINT

After Hiram took a timeout in the second quarter with 3:24 to go before the half, the Jackets held a 31-27 lead. Hiram added a quick layup out of the break to pull within two before forcing Defiance into two straight turnovers that the Terriers made into fast-break layups. Tied 33-33 moments later, Hiram's Payton Black recovered her own miss with the go-ahead bucket to kickstart a 6-0 run to close the first half. Defiance committed turnovers on their last three possessions of the half to aid Hiram's 39-33 lead.

HOW IT HAPPENED

King was in rhythm from the get-go with Defiance's first five points and scored eight of the Jackets' 20 first-quarter points. Defiance canned four treys in the opening quarter, including two by King. The other two game from Kaitlin Paul and Ali Mowen as each make gave DC game-high four-point leads. 

After a 20-19 first stanza, Mowen buried her second shot from long range to start the second quarter. Defiance held Hiram to a pair of free throws over the first three minutes of the quarter before King hit a third trey in the half at the 7:02 mark to extend the lead to 26-22. Anastasia Lawler answered right back on the other end with the first of her three triples to keep Hiram within one. The Jackets went without a field goal for the next three minutes but still maintained a slim one-point edge. With 4:01 remaining in the half, Twanasia Grave sank a corner 3-pointer to push Defiance to yet another four-point lead that eventually led to Hiram's momentum-changing timeout. Of Defiance's four field goals in the second quarter, three were from outside the arc to give the Jackets seven treys over the first 20 minutes.

Hiram extended the lead out to seven points early in the third before the Jackets started to rally back. Following a Hickman bucket at the 7:25 mark, King drilled a straightaway 3-pointer then cleaned the offensive boards with a made put-back off a missed triple try on DC's next turn with the ball. King's five-point swing brought the Yellow Jackets within two and the game remained that tight through the midway point of the quarter. After a media timeout at 4:45, Defiance finished the quarter 2-for-7 from the floor compared to the Terriers' 16-5 run, which was highlighted by Lawler 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions in the final two minutes of the quarter.

In the fourth, Defiance shot a game-low 33 percent while Hiram couldn't miss and went 9-for-12 over the last 10 minutes. Precious late-game possessions were also limited by eight Defiance turnovers in the period. The Terriers opened a gap as wide as 24 points halfway through the fourth quarter when the score reached 80-56. Defiance closed the game with a rally of 15-8 that included King's fifth triple with just under 40 seconds left in the contest.

BRINGING THE STING

• King's 31-point performance is the first 30-point effort by a Yellow Jacket since Taylor Steinbrunner recorded 31 during a 90-63 win at Machester last February. The program's single-game scoring record is 39 by Lea Barrera in 2001.
• Addy Allen matched her career-high in scoring with nine points, including seven in the second half. She tallied six of those points at the free-throw line paired with a 3-pointer.
• Paul logged a solid first half with five points, her most in a game this season.
• Defiance's 11 3-pointers are the most in a game so far this season, which boosted the team's season-best 71 points.

UP NEXT

Defiance women's basketball returns to the hardwood on Saturday as part of a men's and women's HCAC doubleheader at Transylvania. Tipoff at the Beck Center for DCWB's matchup against the current D-III No. 1 and defending D-III National Champions is scheduled for 3 p.m.

-JACKETS-