HCAC's Leading Defense Can't Stop the Jackets in 79-72 Victory

DEFIANCE, Ohio – Defiance claimed sole possession of fifth place in the conference with a 79-72 win over Rose-Hulman on Saturday. The HCAC's leading defense could not contain the Yellow Jackets, as they poured in 79 points, marking the highest point total scored against the Engineers this season.

Hannah Harshman and Erica King set the tone early for Defiance, combining to score the Jackets' first 23 points of the game on nine-of-nine shooting as Defiance built a 23-14 advantage midway through the opening period.

After the Engineers cut the lead to seven points with a three-pointer at the 5:29 mark, Molly Bateman caught fire, exploding for 11 quick points on four-of-four shooting to fuel a 15-6 run for Defiance going into the break.

The Engineers responded after halftime, posting an 18-2 run to start the second half and tie the game at 48 points apiece with 13:05 left to play. Rose's Alicia Dickerson gave the Engineers their first lead in over 25 minutes with a jumper that put Defiance down, 52-51, with 10:49 showing.

Alexis Pierce hit a three-pointer to reclaim the lead for Defiance with just over ten minutes remaining, and kick start an extended 19-4 run for the Jackets that resulted in a 14-point lead with 5:31 left. The Engineers rallied again to make thing interesting, but Defiance nailed nine-of-10 free throws over the last five minutes to seal the victory.

Defiance's 83.3 percent clip from the charity stripe was its second-best free throw shooting performance of the season, and a reassuring sign for a team that had struggled from the line in recent games. The team was sharp from long range as well, hitting 10-of-20 long balls on its way to a season-best 50 percent three-point shooting clip.

The Yellow Jackets ended with five players in double-digits, as Bateman, King, Harshman, Tasha Stucke and Brooke Zachrich combined to score 66 of the team's 79 points.  King led DC in scoring with 17 points, while Bateman finished with an efficient 13 points on five-of-six shooting in 18 minutes.

Defiance (7-10; 5-5 HCAC), will stay home and host Anderson University (5-12; 3-7 HCAC) on Wednesday, January 26. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.