BLUFFTON, Ohio – The Defiance College women's basketball team opened up 2012 with a victory over Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference rival Bluffton, 63-53. Hannah Harshman, Kim Comden and Megan Zachrich all entered double figures in the win.
In the first half, the two rivals traded baskets for the opening 12 minutes of play. The Lady Jackets took the lead 16-15 on a Kim Bingley layup with 8:00 on the clock. Bluffton scored on the next possession to make the score 17-16 in favor of the Beavers, but DC quickly took control of the game with a strong performance to end the half.
Comden scored a tip-in bucket to give the Jackets the lead, 18-17, and Megan Zachrich provided a huge block on the other end of the court to protect the lead. The Lady Jackets scored on their next five possessions. Erica King found Megan Zachrich on a quick back door cut to score a layup with 5:05 left on the clock. Harshman scored on an open layup the next trip down the court and Comden pushed the lead to 26-17 with back-to-back buckets soon after.
The Lady Jackets were not finished for the half as Harshman scored another layup to give the Jackets a 28-17 lead. Ashley Birchmeier added two free throws down the stretch, while Comden provided two makes from the charity stripe and a layup with one second left on the clock.
The 18-2 run by Defiance gave the Lady Yellow Jackets a 34-17 advantage at the break. DC's defense shut down the Bluffton offense by not allowing a bucket for the last 6:54 of the half and forcing 12 turnovers.
Defiance started the second half slowly as Bluffton came out looking to cut into the DC lead. The Beavers brought the lead to ten points, 36-26, with 15:10 remaining, but the Lady Jackets weathered the storm and grabbed the momentum back at 14:11 on a Megan Zachrich jumper. Harshman hit a turn-around layup in the post to increase the lead. Harshman then gave Defiance a boost with a block, which led to an easy layup in transition by Megan Zachrich to make the score 42-26 in favor of Defiance.
Bluffton cut the lead to nine points, 46-37, with 7:51 remaining in the contest by using an 11-4 run. Harshman pushed the lead back to 12 points, 49-37 with an old-fashioned three-point play after Bluffton had cut the lead to single digits.
Defiance kept Bluffton from making any significant run for the rest of the game. DC slowed down the game with long possessions en route to the victory.
Harshman led all scorers with 20 points on nine-of-15 shooting. She also grabbed nine rebounds. Comden provided 14 points, nine rebounds and two blocks. Six of Comden's nine rebounds came on the offensive glass. Megan Zachrich scored 14 points, grabbed five rebounds and four steals.
King finished the game with five points and dished out nine assists. Rachel Ciminillo scored two points and collected nine rebounds. Brooke Zachrich chipped in with four points and three rebounds.
Bluffton was led by 13 points from Brittany Stegmaier.
With the win, Defiance improves to 5-7 overall and 3-2 in league play. Bluffton falls to 2-10 overall and 0-5 in the HCAC.
The Lady Yellow Jackets will return to action at 1:00 pm at home against HCAC opponent Transylvania. The game can be viewed live on the Yellow Jackets Sports Network by visiting www.defianceathletics.com/video/.