Lady Jackets earn first victory of the season
Nick Williams, Assistant SID

DEFIANCE, Ohio - The Defiance College Lady Jacket Basketball team finally got the chance to put a mark on the left hand side of the record column as the Jackets defeated Marygrove College in the second game of the Hubbard Co./PRO REHAB Women’s Basketball Classic Friday evening by the score 93-76.

The game got off to a good start for the Jackets as Meghann Savard scored the first basket of the game. Defiance scored the first four points of the game and never trailed the entire contest. Marygrove kept the game close throughout the beginning of the first half, pulling within one four times during the first nine minutes of the game. With the score 14-13 in favor of DC, Savard and Stephanie Lieto sank four free throws between them while Savard added another layup to give Defiance a seven-point edge. Marygrove closed the gap to within two with seven-and-a-half minutes left, but the Lady Jackets closed the half strong, going on a 19-6 run to take a 39-24 advantage into halftime.

In the second half, DC maintained a double-digit lead for the first 10:25 of the period, at one point taking a 19-point lead. Marygrove cut the gap to nine with 9:35 left to play and again at the 3:42 mark. Yet clutch free throw shooting from the entire team helped the Jackets maintain a double-digit lead that they would never relinquish, as 14 of DC’s last 17 points came from the charity stripe.

Megan Myers recorded her first double-double of the season with 14 points and 13 rebounds. Savard had a season-high 31 points and just missed a double-double with nine rebounds. All nine Jackets that played had at least three points and five players scored in double figures, including Sarah Bird, with 13 points and a team-high six assists.

Defiance takes on Berea College, who lost earlier this evening in the Classic to Ohio Northern University, tomorrow afternoon at 3:00 p.m.