Lady Jackets go winless in Olivet Nazarene Tournament
Nick Williams, Assistant SID

BOURBONNAIS, Ill. - The Defiance College Lady Jacket basketball squad suffered its worst loss of the season Saturday afternoon, falling to Olivet Nazarene College 106-67.

DC held an early 7-2 lead two minutes into the game off of baskets by Erica Franks, Megan Myers, and Meghann Savard. However the Tigers erased that lead by the 16-minute mark, taking an 8-7 advantage. The Jacket deficit ballooned to 20 with eight and a half minutes left to play in the first half. By the end of the half, the Jackets trailed by 19. The second half did not see Defiance come any closer than 15 and at one point was down by 38.

The Lady Jackets had a very tough time controlled the ball, as Olivet Nazarene forced DC to commit a season-high 49 turnovers. The Tigers converted those takeaways into 55 points. Although Olivet Nazarene fired 112 shots in the game, Defiance was able to hold them to only 33.9 percent (38-112) field goal shooting. Yet the Tigers did a better job of crashing the boards on those misses, outrebounding the Lady Jackets 65-55, including 36 offensive rebounds.

Sarah Grime recorded her first double-double of the season, scoring 19 and grabbing 11 boards. Three other Lady Jackets scored in double figures, including Myers (10 points, eight rebounds), Savard (11 points, six rebounds), and Sarah Bird (10 points, three rebounds). Kara Jones added four points and four assists.

Defiance will host three teams in the Hubbard Company/PRO REHAB Classic this Friday and Saturday. Defiance plays Marygrove Friday evening at 8:00 p.m.