WOOSTER, Ohio – The Lady Jackets recorded what was statistically their best defensive effort in nearly seven years as they held the College of Wooster to just 38 points in a convincing, 53-38, road victory. It marked the program's best defensive showing since holding Manchester College to 38 points on Jan. 14, 2004.
The Lady Jackets, fresh off a 12-day holiday break, forced the Fighting Scots into six turnovers during their first seven possessions of the opening half. Wooster shot just two-of-seven over the first ten minutes, while DC hit eight of their first 20 shots to jump out to a 23-5 lead with 9:54 left in the half. Defiance recorded ten first-half field goals, with all ten coming from a different player, before going into halftime with a 29-18 advantage.
Wooster's Taylor Keegan hit a three-pointer to open the second half and cut DC's lead to eight, but the Yellow Jackets extended the lead to ten on a Tasha Stucke layup at the 18:03 mark, and maintained a double-digit advantage for the remainder of the contest, pushing the lead to as many as 19 points with just under four minutes remaining.
DC's bench accounted for 35 points in the contest, just three shy of Wooster's final score, as 18 different players logged time for the Lady Jackets. Courtney Schmersal posted a team-high eight points in just ten minutes off the bench, while Tasha Stucke and Alexis pierce recorded seven points apiece. Hannah Harshman led the team in rebounds for the third time in the last four games, pulling down nine boards to go along with her five points.
Wooster's 33 turnovers was the most by a Yellow Jacket opponent this season, and the most by a DC opponent since Franklin coughed-up 36 on Jan. 16 last season. Defiance took advantage of the sloppy ball handling, recording a 31-8 advantage on points off turnovers.
The remainder of the Yellow Jackets' regular season schedule will come against Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference opponents, beginning on Jan. 5, when Transylvania (7-4, 2-2 HCAC) comes to town for a 5:00 p.m. tip-off.