Zachrich Scores Career-High in Loss Against Transylvania (Ky.)

LEXINGTON, KY.  --  Senior guard/forward Megan Zachrich (Napoleon) scored a career-high 26 points and went 11-of-12 at the free-throw line, but the Defiance College women's basketball team came out on the losing end of a 78-65 decision against No. 17 nationally-ranked Transylvania (Ky.) University in a Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference game in Lexington, Ky.

Zachrich's 26 points was also a game-high while shooting seven-of-15 (46.7 percent) from the floor.  She also grabbed six rebounds.  Sophomore forward Kelsey Tietje (Deshler/Patrick Henry) recorded yet another double-double with 16 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.  Ten of her 16 points came at the charity stripe, shooting 10-of-11 overall (90.9 percent).  The duo combined to score 42 of the team's 65 total points.

The Yellow Jackets shot 32.2 percent (19-of-59) for the game, 21.7 percent (five-of-23) from three-point range, but shot an impressive 88.0 percent (22-of-25) from the free-throw line.

Defiance (3-5, 2-1 HCAC) led by a point, 13-12, at the 13:37 minute mark of the first half following a three-pointer by sophomore guard Erica Smay (Defiance/Timora).  Transylvania (7-0, 3-0 NCAC) then scored back-to-back triples to regain the lead, 18-13, with just over 11 minutes remaining before the break.  The Jackets continued to hang around until the 8:07 mark when the Pioneers began to pull away beginning with a 10-0 scoring run to transform their lead to an 11-point advantage, 31-20.  Transylvania went on to lead by as many as 14 points in the period, but it was DC who tallied the final points thanks to a three-pointer by freshman guard Mekai White (Cincinnati/Winton Woods) that cut the defict to 42-31 at halftime.

In the second half, Transylvania maintained its double-digit lead throughout the final 20 minutes as the DC shooting went cold connecting on just nine-of-32 attempts (28.1 percent), incluidng one-of-11 (9.1 percent) from long range.  The Pioneers quickly took advantage, jumping out to a 17-point lead, 55-38, with 15:25 to go in the game.  Transylvania equaled its largest lead on several occasions with the last one being a 74-57 edge at the 3:37 mark.  DC pulled to within 11 points in the period, including a 76-65 score with under a minute to go following a layup by freshman guard Whitney Schalk (Bellevue), but the Pioneers already had the game in hand and went on to post the final score of 78-65.

Transylvania shot 47.6 percent (30-of-63) from the field and was led in scoring by Katelyn Smith with 24 points to go along with seven rebounds.  Nicole Coffman was the only other player in double figures with 13 points.

Defiance will host the University of Mount Union in a non-conference game on Wednesday, Dec. 17 at the Karl H. Weaner Center.  Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m.