Lady Jackets exit early in the HCAC Tournament
Nick Williams, Assistant SID

N. MANCHESTER, Ind. – The DC Lady Jacket Basketball Team make an early exit of the HCAC Tournament Tuesday evening as the team fell to Manchester College by the score 57-40.

Poor shooting ultimately led to the downfall of the Jacket squad, as the team only shot 22.6 percent from the field. Yet the shooting doesn’t tell the entire story. The first points of the game did not come until three minutes into the game, when a Kelley Meikeljohn layup gave the Spartans the early lead. Over the next five minutes, DC would go on a 7-2 run to take a four-point lead. Though Manchester would regain the lead at 8-7 and maintain the lead for the rest of the half, the Lady Jackets never trailed by more than eight, and actually came within three at one point–all despite the Jackets shooting 6-of-25 from the field while Manchester went 11-of-24. By the end of the half, DC only trailed by five.

In the second half, DC was able to put the defensive pressure on the Spartans, holding the team to 7-of-19 shooting from the field while forcing six turnovers. Unfortunately, the Jackets could not overcome their own shooting woes, as the team went 6-of-28 from the field in the half. Compounding the problem was the foul trouble that the Jackets found themselves in. DC was whistled for 12 fouls in the half, leading to 21 trips to the line for the Spartans, who converted 16. Manchester would eventually outscore the Jackets 32-20 despite shooting under 40 percent from the field in the half.

Meghann Savard scored 11 while grabbing seven rebounds, while Kara Jones put up eight with four rebounds in their last collegiate games. Sarah Bird added four and five rebounds.

Manchester’s Heather Terflinger led all scorers with 16 points.

DC ends with a record of 6-20 and 3-12 in the HCAC. Manchester, now 19-7 (11-4 HCAC), advances to the HCAC Semifinals, hosting Hanover on Friday at 6:00.