December 6

Lady Jackets get first conference win of the season
Nick Williams, Assistant SID

Defiance vs. Bluffton Box Score

DEFIANCE, Ohio – The Defiance College Women’s Basketball team was able to maintain its early double-digit lead against Bluffton University as the Lady Jackets cruised to a 65-53 victory and its first HCAC win of the year.

The Lady Jackets scored the first five points of the game within the first minute and never looked back from that point. The lead was stretched to 18-5 over the next six minutes, with DC taking a 32-14 lead with 6:26 left in the period, its largest of the half.
Sarah Grime goes up for two
Sarah Bird had the hottest hand for DC in the first half as she scored on her first four shots to give her 11 points. She finished the half with 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting and 3-of-4 from behind the arc.

Taking a 36-23 lead into the second half, DC maintained the offensive pressure on the Beavers, stretching the gap to 20 after beginning the half on a 7-2 run to make it 45-25. Bluffton was unable to put a dent in the deficit throughout the period, as Defiance maintained a lead of at least 11 until the 4:10 mark, when Vicki Auer scored a layup to make the score 56-47.

The Beavers put a little scare into the Lady Jackets when they pulled within eight with 1:48 left to play, but Sarah Grime took over in the closing minute, grabbing three key rebounds and hitting four free throws in the last minute to fight off the Bluffton rally.

Katie McNamara led DC with 18 points on 6-of-7 shooting. Kayla Mengerink had nine points and seven assists, while Grime finished with eight points and a team-high seven rebounds.

Defiance (4-2, 1-2 HCAC) will remain home this weekend as the Jackets host a men’s-women’s doubleheader against Hanover College. The Lady Jacket tip-off is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.