Savard’s 23 points lead DC into Tourney Championship

--Defiance, Ohio—The Defiance College Lady Jackets advance to the championship of the Hubbard Co./ Pro-Rehab Tournament with a 72-59 win over Muskingum at the Karl H. Weaner Center on Friday night.

Meghann Savard led the Jackets with 23 points on 6-of-8 shooting, while also hitting 11-of-12 from the free-throw line. Meta Gerding added 10 points, a team-high eight rebounds and three assists, while Kayla Mengerink hit for 13 points and swiped three steals. DC was hot from the floor, shooting 60% on all shots and 78% from three-point land.

Muskingum was led by Leah Miller with 14 points and eight rebounds. The Muskies outrebounded the Lady Jackets 34-29 and grabbed 20 offensive rebounds on the game and converted 23 second-chance points. DC had 18 points off turnovers and hit 16-of-19 second-half free throws to ice the game.

The lead changed hands 10 times in the early going before DC took control on back-to-back baskets by Mengerink and Savard. Savard scored 10 points in the last six minutes of the first half to help the Jackets build a 10-point lead at the break.

The Lady Jackets maintained a double-digit lead until the Muskies cut the advantage to five on a Allison Malchow three-pointer at the 3:53 mark of the second half. Defiance went on an 11-1 run over the next three minutes to put the game out of reach.

Defiance is now 4-4 on the year and will face Washington & Jefferson at 3:00 p.m. tomorrow in the tournament championship. The Presidents, led by Leigh Sulkowski’s 26 points, won in the first game of the night, 99-67 over Tri-State.

Tri-State will face Muskingum in the consolation game, beginning at 1:00 p.m. tomorrow.