Big First Half Lifts Jackets Over Wilberforce 86-79

DEFIANCE, Ohio –Defiance knocked down clutch free throws in the final two minutes of the game to pull out an 86-79 victory over Wilberforce University on December 15. The Jackets move to the .500 mark with win, improving their non-conference record to 3-2 on the season.

Tied 11-11 just under seven minutes into the game, DC would end the first half on a 33-10 spurt to go into the locker room with a 46-23 advantage. Mandy White dropped in eight points during the run, while Holly Stein and Tasha Stucke combined for nine points. Elisa Hickman, coming off a great game against Milligan, poured in nine points in a two-minute span that saw Defiance score 15 straight points.

The Jackets pushed the lead back to 23 in the second half as Sarah Bird’s jumper gave DC a 50-27 lead two minutes into the final period. A 13-6 run by the Bulldogs narrowed the Defiance lead to 16, at 56-40, but the Jackets would answer with a 7-0 rally to take a 63-40 lead. Stucke, who had two of her four second-half assists during that span, fed Stein who drained the trifecta to push the DC lead back over 20 points with over 12 minutes remaining.

Wilberforce picked away at the Jackets’ lead over the next ten minutes of the contest, going on a 30-12 run to cut the lead to 75-70 with 2:41 remaining in the game. Bird would answer with a layup to push the lead back to seven, 77-70, but two-straight buckets by the Bulldogs made it a one-possession game. Defiance would connect on nine-of-ten shots from the charity stripe over the last minute and half of the game to seal the victory.

Defiance won the game at the charity stripe, while scoring at least 80 points for the third-straight game. For the game the Jackets shot 71.8 percent from the line on 28-for-39 shooting. The Bulldogs struggled at the line all game, knocking down only 17-of-34 free throws on the night.

Four Lady Jackets reached double figures in scoring on the night, led by White’s team-high 16 points. White once again reached double digits as her streak improved to six games. Hickman continues to use her minutes wisely, scoring a career-high 14 points in 14 minutes of action. She has now averaged a point per minute over her last two contests. Stucke also set a career high in points with 13 on the night, while tallying at least four assists for the fifth-consecutive game. Stein recorded her second double-double of her young collegiate career, dropping in 11 points to go along with a career-best 15 boards. Kim Zura also had a solid game for DC, recording eight points, six assists and five rebounds.

Defiance (4-4) will return to action on Saturday, December 29, when it travels to Columbus, Ohio to face the 25th-ranked Crusaders of Capital University. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.