King's 18 Points Leads Jackets to Victory Over Anderson

DEFIANCE, Ohio – Sophomore Erica King poured in 18 points on five-of-nine shooting to help the Defiance College women's basketball team to a 62-54 victory over Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference opponent Anderson University. The Jackets improve to 6-5 in the HCAC with the win.

Defiance and Anderson traded baskets for the opening seven minutes of action as neither side led by more than four points. Anderson held a 10-9 lead with 12:39 remaining in the opening half, but it was the last time the visiting Ravens would see the lead. A free throw by King leveled the game at 10-10 and a layup by junior Kim Comden pushed the Jackets into the lead for good.

Defiance captured the lead as part of a 14-2 run that started at the 10:19 mark and ended with 4:37 left in the half. Comden did most of the damage during the run with six points, while King added four. Senior Brooke Zachrich and sophomore Kim Bingley finished the run with one layup each.

The Yellow Jackets steadily build momentum over the rest of the first half, and entered the break with a 30-17 advantage.

The second half was more of the same from DC, as the Yellow Jackets pushed the lead to 17 points, 39-22, on a three-pointer from Rachel Ciminillo with 16:29 left in the contest. The Ravens answered with a short 8-4 run to bring the deficit to 13 points, 43-30.

An 8-1 run by DC from the 5:51 mark to 2:47 gave the Yellow Jackets a commanding 19-point lead. A late push by Anderson was not enough as the Purple and Gold went on to win 62-54.

King added two rebounds and two assists to go along with her 18 points in 27 minutes of action. Comden barely missed a double-double with 14 points and nine rebounds.

Bingley scored nine points and chipped in with five rebounds, while Ciminillo scored seven points, dished out two assists and grabbed three steals.

Anderson, which falls to 6-12 overall and 3-8 in the conference, was paced by 12 points from Ashley Wuestefeld.

With the victory, the Yellow Jackets improve to 8-10 overall and 6-5 in the league. As a team, DC shot 22-of-54 overall, five-of-nine from deep and 13-of-15 from the charity stripe.

Defiance will return to action on Saturday, January 28 on the road at Transylvania. Tip-off is scheduled for 1:00 PM in Lexington.