Lady Jackets begin season with overtime win
Nick Williams, Assistant SID

Defiance vs. Albion Box Score

N. MANCHESTER, Ind. – The Defiance College Women’s Basketball team began the regular season off on the right foot with a 68-66 win over Albion College in overtime in the Manchester Tip-Off.

The game began going in favor of the Britons, as they took an early 5-0 lead and at one point took a 13-point edge with 5:44 left to play in the half. The Jackets would then put on the pressure as the Jackets closed out the half on a 13-6 run to make the score 30-24.

The beginning of the second half saw DC come out shooting, with the Lady Jackets scoring eight of the first 10 points of the half to take a 35-34 lead. From this point on, the game would be neck-and-neck, as neither team would hold a lead larger than six for the rest of the half. DC held a 57-55 lead at the 3:49 mark, which would shrink to 57-56 on a free throw with 2:36 on the clock. Albion would send the game into OT with a game-tying free throw with only nine seconds to play.

In the bonus session, Defiance scored first 25 seconds in, with Albion tying the game on its next possession. Over the course of the next three minutes, DC and Albion had five lead changes and a tie at 66 with 1:16 to go. On the next DC possession, the Lady Jackets sunk two crucial free throws for a two-point advantage. Albion put a scare into DC with a potential go-ahead three-pointer that missed with 46 seconds to play. The crucial defensive play of the game came when the Jackets were able to force a turnover with four seconds to play to gain the victory.

Katie McNamara led DC with 19 points and seven rebounds in her Lady Jacket debut. Mandy White added 15 points and seven boards, while Kayla Mengerink had 11 points and five assists.

Mengerink provided DC with the crucial go-ahead free throws to seal the win.

The Jackets will take on Westminster College tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. in the second day of the Manchester Tip-Off.