Second Half Surge Propels Lady Jackets Over Kalamazoo

DEFIANCE, Ohio – The Defiance College Lady Yellow Jackets used 47-second-half points to overturn an eight-point half time deficit and beat Kalamazoo, 70-65. Sophomore guard Erica King provided a season-best 23 points in the victory. [Video Highlights]

The Hornets jumped out to an 8-0 lead in the first six minutes of the game, as Defiance missed its first ten shots from the floor. The Purple and Gold's offense quickly found it's rhythm and went on an 11-2 run from the 13:27 to the 9:46 mark in the opening frame. Junior forward Emma Starks gave DC a boost off the bench by scoring seven points over that stretch. 

Kalamazoo regained momentum the rest of the first half, outscoring the Yellow Jackets 21-11 en route to a 31-23 lead at the break.

In the second half, the Defiance offense caught on fire and tied the game 40-40 with 12:15 remaining in the game. After several minutes of trading buckets, and the score tied at 45-45, the Yellow Jackets took control with a 9-2 run from 9:51 to 7:54 left on the clock. Sophomore forward Hannah Harshman had four points during the run, while freshman guard Megan Zachrich hit a three-pointer and junior guard Rachel Ciminillo added two points.

Kalamazoo chipped away the lead to one point, 64-63, on an Emily Linday three-pointer with 2:52 remaining. Senior Brooke Zachrich immediately answered by splitting the Hornet defense and making a layup to push the lead to three points, 66-63. The DC defense came up with a stop on the next play, and the Hornets were forced to foul. Ciminillo and King each connected on a pair of free throws in the waning seconds to seal the win. 

Defiance shot 50% from the floor, 66% from three-point land and 81% from the charity strip in the 47-point outburst in the second half. The Yellow Jackets forced 21 total turnovers.

King's 23-point game came on six-of-11 shooting, including four-of-six from deep and five-of –seven from the foul line. Brooke Zachrich finished with 11 points, four rebounds and three assists. Junior center Kim Comden barely missed a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds. She also added a season-best three blocks on defense.  Ciminillo scored five points, dished out three assists and grabbed a career-high ten rebounds. 

With the victory, Defiance improves to 3-5 on the year. Kalamazoo, which was led by Kelsey Johnson's 19 points, drops to 2-6 overall.

The Lady Yellow Jackets will return to action on Saturday, December 17 at home against Albion. Tip-off is slated for 3:00 pm. The game can be viewed live at http://www.defianceathletics.com/video/.