DC Falls on Second Day of the Hope College Tournament

HOLLAND, Mich. – Defiance College split games in the Hope College Tournament, dropping to the host school 77-43 on the second day.

In the first half, it was the Megan Zachrich (Napoleon, Ohio/Napoleon) and Mekai White (Cincinnati, Ohio/Winton Woods) show, as they teamed up for 15 of the 17 first half points for DC.  After a 7-0 Hope run to start the game, Zachrich put DC in the scoring column with a jumper in the lane.  Just over 30 seconds later, Zachrich found a three on an assist from Ashley Williams (Leipsic, Ohio/Pandora-Gilboa).  Zachrich found another jumper in the paint followed by a White three pointer to tie things up at 10 at the 13:55 mark.  Another short run from Hope was stopped again by Zachrich, this time with a lay in set up by Williams.  White found her second three pointer of the half at the 6:13 mark to keep DC close, trailing Hope 19-15.  The home team was able to extend the lead to 21 in the last six minutes.  The Yellow Jackets trailed 38-17 at intermission.

Zachrich led DC in the first half with nine points.  White added six on her two shots from beyond the arc.

Erica Smay (Defiance, Ohio/Tinora) put in the first points for DC in the second half on a three pointer at the 18:01 mark.  Williams dished out another assist 90 seconds later, this time finding Brittany Osborne (Union City, Ind./Union City) in the paint.  Osborne hit another jumper two minutes later, followed by a Smay three to cut the lead back down to 21, 49-28 with 14:23 left to play.  DC went cold for five minutes, failing to convert on a field goal attempt until Smay's jumper in the paint at the 9:35 mark.  Kelsey Tietje (Deshler, Ohio/Patrick Henry) found her first bucket with just under six minutes remaining to make the score 70-36 in favor of Hope.  Zachrich found Williams on a fast break with four minutes left to give Williams her first field goal of the afternoon.  Sharai Allen (Detroit, Mich./Eastern Michigan University) and Osborne converted on back-to-back buckets to finish the scoring the scoring for DC on the day.  Hope took the 77-43 win.

Smay rode 11 points in the second half to lead DC on the day in points.  She finished with 12.  Zachrich added nine points.  Osborne and White both chipped in six.

Tietje had another big day on the boards, pulling down nine rebounds on the afternoon.  The sophomore is now averaging 12 rebounds a contest.  Osborne added six rebounds to go along with her six points.

Williams did an excellent job seeing the floor, dishing out a game-high six assists.

After the game, Megan Zachrich was named to the All-Tournament Team.

The Yellow Jackets will be in action again on Tuesday.  They travel to Ada, Ohio for a matchup against Ohio Northern University.  Tipoff is set for 5:00 pm with the men's game to follow.