No. 3 Hope Uses Strong Second Half to Defeat Defiance

HOPE, Mich. – The Lady Jackets gave third-ranked Hope College all it could handle in the opening 20 minutes of action on Tuesday night but could not keep pace in the second stanza, as Hope pulled away for the 83-60 victory.

Defiance connected on four-of-seven three pointers in the opening half and went to the break trailing 37-34 to Hope. The shooting touch abandoned the Jackets in the second half however, as DC shot five-of-31 for a miserable 16.1 percent from the field over the final 20 minutes.

The high powered Hope squad cashed in on the Defiance scoring drought to outscore the Purple and Gold by a 46-26 margin after the break, behind a 28-6 advantage in the paint and a 16-2 edge in fast break points.

Much of that damage was done early, as Hope netted the first 11 points of the second stanza and used a 17-2 spurt to blow open a 54-36 lead with 15:19 to play. The assault proved too much for DC to battle back from, as Hope coasted to the 83-60 win.

Defiance was led by 13 points, 12 rebounds and a pair of steals from Shavonda Price, while Tasha Stucke logged her third double-digit scoring performance in four games with 12 points. Courtney Schmersal added eight points and Mandie White pulled down eight boards.

DC (2-2) will look to snap a two-game skid when it hosts Anderson (0-4) on December 2 at 7:30 pm. The game will open the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference schedule for the Jackets and will be webcast live on www.DefianceAthletics.com/video.