Ervin Leads DC Offense in Loss Against UW-Oshkosh

WHEATON, ILL. – The Defiance College women's basketball team dropped the opening game of the Wheaton (Ill.) College Beth Baker Classic to No. 6/11 nationally-ranked University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh in non-conference play, 74-49.

Freshman forward Sam Ervin (Bloomdale/Elmwood) led the Yellow Jacket offense with a game-high 15 points (six-of-13 shooting). Junior guard Erica Smay (Defiance/Tinora) added 11 points, while shooting three-of-eight from the field (37.5 percent) and went a perfect three-of-three at the free-throw line. Junior center Kelsey Tietje (Deshler/Patrick Henry) rounded out the high scorers with nine points and she grabbed a game-high eight rebounds.

UW-Oshkosh (3-0) took control of the first quarter quickly, leading 7-0 over Defiance (0-2). A three-pointer from sophomore guard Whitney Schalk (Bellevue) put the Yellow Jackets on the board, 7-3, at the 6:03 minute mark. The Titans went on an 11-0 scoring run until Smay scored a three making the score 18-6, with less than a minute to go in the quarter. Defiance was unable to add points before the buzzer, trailing 19-6 after the first period.

Defiance started the second quarter with back-to-back buckets from sophomore guard Brittany Osborne (Union City, Ind. /Union City) and Ervin to cut the Titan lead to 10 points, 21-11. Defiance got as close as eight points, 36-28, with 1:10 to play before the Titans capitalized on a 5-0 run to end the half to lead 41-28 at the intermission.

At the start of the second half, the Yellow Jackets looked to gain momentum, with a quick layup just over 30 seconds into the third quarter to make the score 43-30. The Titans answered with a 7-0 run of their own before Ervin made a three-point play off of a bucket in the paint where she got fouled and made the freebie, making the score 50-33 at the 6:46 mark. The Yellow Jackets were only able to make one more bucket to go along with four free-throws in the quarter and trailed the Titans, 62-39, heading into the fourth quarter.

The first bucket in the fourth came off the hands of junior guard Ashley Williams (Leipsic/Pandora-Gilboa) on a fast break after stealing the ball from the Titans' offense, making the score 62-41 with just over eight minutes left to play. Back-and-forth buckets made the score teeter-totter until the last bucket from Ervin made the score 68-49 at the 3:25 mark. Defiance was held scoreless the rest of the game, finalizing the 74-49 victory in favor of UW-Oshkosh.

The Yellow Jackets will finish the Baker Classic tomorrow (Nov. 21) in a non-conference game against host and No. 8 Wheaton. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m. (3 p.m. CST).