Tietje Scores 21 in Loss to No. 8 Wheaton

WHEATON, ILL.  --  Junior forward Kelsey Tietje (Deshler/Patrick Henry) scored 21 points in a 79-63 loss against No. 8 nationally-ranked Wheaton (Ill.) College in the final game of the Beth Baker Classic in Wheaton, Ill.

Tietje shot 44.4 percent (four-of-nine) from the field and 80.0 percent (12-of-15) at the free-throw line in addition to grabbing eight rebounds.  Sophomore Brittany Osborne (Union City, Ind./Union City) was the only other Yellow Jacket player to score in double figures with 11 points.  Freshman Sam Ervin (Bloomdale/Elmwood) made an impact on the boards for DC with a game-high 10 rebounds.

Osborne scored the first points of the game at the 8:05 minute mark of the first quarter on a jumper to give DC (0-3) an early lead.  Wheaton (3-0) then scored back-to-back baskets to take the lead and never trailed in the game again.  The Thunder led by as many as five points in the period, but DC battled back to within two points, 10-8, following a three-pointer by junior Ashley Williams (Leipsic/Pandora-Gilboa) with just over three minutes in the period.  Wheaton maintained its lead but would only have a three-point margin, 14-11, after the first 10 minutes.

Wheaton outscored DC, 7-2, in the opening minutes of the second quarter to lead by eight points, 21-13.  But an ensuing triple and a pair of free-throws by Tietje cut the deficit to a more manageable three points, 21-18, with six minutes left in the half.  The Thunder eventually built their lead back to eight points, 30-22, later in the quarter, but the Jackets rallied again just before the end of the half narrowing the gap to just two points, 32-20, on two more free-throws by Tietje at the 1:24 mark.  Wheaton tallied the final points of the half on a three-point play to take a 35-30 edge into the locker rooms.

Wheaton took control of the game in the second half, shooting nearly 50 percent from the field.  The Thunder began the third quarter with a 9-1 scoring run to extend their lead to double figures for the first time in the game, 44-31, with 6:50 left in the period.  The DC shooting went cold in the third quarter which allowed Wheaton to outscore the Jackets, 24-6, and boast a sizeable 59-36 advantage heading into the fourth quarter.

DC scored back-to-back-to-back three-pointers to begin the final 10 minutes from sophomore Whitney Schalk (Bellevue), Williams and junior Erica Smay (Defiance/Tinora) to make it a 59-45 ball game.  But that would be as close as the Jackets would get the rest of the way as the Thunder increased their lead back out to the 20-point plateau en route to the 79-63 final.

Wheaton shot 44.7 percent (34-of-76) for the game and had four players score in double digits led by Katie McDaniels with a game-high 23 points.  Ellie Zeller was second with 15 points, followed by Kelly Lawson with 14 points and Chantal Meacham added 11 points.

Following the conclusion of the classic, Tietje was named to the All-Tournament Team.

DC will return home to face Ohio Northern University in a non-conference game on Tuesday, Nov. 24 as part of a basketball doubleheader with the Yellow Jacket men's team.  The women will tip-off against the Polar Bears at 5:30 p.m. at the Karl H. Weaner Center, followed by the men at 7:30 p.m.