Ervin Scores Season-High 18 Points in Loss to Mount St. Joseph

DEFIANCE, OHIO – The Defiance College women's basketball team hosted Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference rival Mount St. Joseph University and fell to the Lions, 85-74.

Freshman Sam Ervin (Bloomdale/Elmwood) led the Yellow Jackets with a season-high 18 points (eight-of-11 shooting). Junior Ashley Williams (Leipsic/Pandora-Gilboa) scored 15 points, all of which came from behind the arch. Junior Kelsey Tietje (Deshler/Patrick Henry) rounded out the double-digit scorers with 13 points (five-of-10 shooting) and grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds to record her sixth double-double of the season.

Defiance (2-9, 1-3 HCAC) started the game with a 5-0 run against Mount St. Joseph (3-8, 2-2 HCAC), that included a three from Williams and a jumper from Tietje. The Lions answered back with five unanswered points of their own to tie to game, 5-5, at the 7:53 minute mark. The Yellow Jackets led by as many as nine points after two free-throws from junior Keri Conine (Ottawa/Pandora-Gilboa) with just under four minutes to play, 17-8. Mount St. Joseph slowly chipped away at the lead and got within two points, 20-18 at the end of the first quarter.

In the second, Ervin struck first, scoring a layup two minutes into play to make the score 22-18. Back-and-forth baskets allowed the Lions to tie the score once again, 26-26 at the 5:51 minute mark. Defiance then went on an 8-0 run that included buckets from Tietje and sophomore Brittany Osborne (Union City, Ind. /Union City) to extend the lead 34-26 with 4:46 left in the half. The lead slipped away from the Yellow Jackets and the Lions had their first lead of the game with 15 seconds left to play 37-36. Defiance was unable to score before the buzzer went off, facing a one-point deficit going into the locker rooms.

Tietje started the third quarter with a three-point play to help the Yellow Jackets regain the lead before the Lions tied the game up, 39-39 at the 9:28 minute mark. A mini 5-0 run from sophomore Whitney Schalk (Bellevue) and Williams, gave Defiance a small cushion for the lead, 44-39. Momentum then shifted in favor of the Lions and despite efforts from the Yellow Jackets, the Lions ended the third ahead of the Yellow Jackets, 56-53.

The fourth was controlled by Mount St. Joseph with a 17-3 run to start the fourth that ended at the 4:46 minute mark, 73-56. Defiance chipped away at the Lions' lead, but was unable regain the lead and eventually fell by a final score of 85-74.

The Yellow Jackets will return to action on Wednesday, Jan. 6 when they host Anderson (Ind.) University in HCAC play at the Karl H. Weaner Center. The game is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m.