Yellow Jackets Sports Weekly Recap (Jan. 16- Jan. 22)

By: Brandon Unverferth

Photography: Hanna Young

Women’s Basketball: Wed. Jan 18 and Sat. Jan. 21

1/18: Earlham College 56 (2-13), Defiance 50 (6-10)

The Defiance College women’s basketball team welcomed the Earlham Quakers to the Karl H. Weaner Center Wednesday evening for an HCAC conference showdown. The starters in this contest included (graduate) Taylor Day, (senior) Taylor Steinbrunner, (senior) Nicole Sims, (junior) McKenzie Cooper, and (freshman) Kalista Friday. One minute and two seconds into the contest (8:58 left in the 1st), graduate Taylor Day put the Yellow Jackets on the scoreboard first with a basket from inside the arc (2-0). Forty-three seconds later (8:15 left in the 1st), junior McKenzie Cooper found open space to the rim for the layup, as she put Defiance up by four (4-0). With 7:56 left in the opening quarter, sophomore Amari Bradford scored the Quaker’s first points as she managed to fight her way to the basket for the layup (4-2). At the midway point of the first, the Yellow Jackets found themselves ahead by four (6-2). Nearly two and a half minutes would burn off the clock before the next basket was scored, and once again, Earlham managed to create enough separation to score a layup, this time scored by senior Neely Trenshaw. Defiance would remain scoreless for the entire second half of the first quarter, while Earlham chipped in another layup with just twenty-three seconds left, to tie the game at 6. The Quakers began the second quarter on a 9-3 scoring run to take a seven-point lead 16-9 with 5:10 left until halftime, but the Yellow Jackets would end the quarter on a 10-2 scoring of their own to take a two-point lead into the locker room (20-18). One minute and twelve seconds into the third quarter (8:48 left in the 3rd), junior McKenzie Cooper connected on a mid-range jump shot to extend the Yellow Jackets’ lead to four (22-18). Both teams would trade the lead numerous times in the third quarter, but going into the final ten minutes of play, Defiance still maintained a four-point lead (37-33). Forty-two seconds into the fourth quarter (9:18 left), graduate Taylor Day splashed home a deep three-pointer from the left wing, to give the Yellow Jackets a seven-point lead (40-33). Thirty-one seconds later (8:47 left), sophomore Janaiya Bright found separation in the Defiance defense to cut the Quakers deficit to five (40-35). With 8:18 left, freshman Zadria King returned the Yellow Jackets’ lead to seven as she scored via a short-range jumper. Ten seconds later (8:08 left), senior Neely Trenshaw knocked down a shot from downtown off an assist from sophomore Alexis Gibson, to cut the Defiance lead to four (42-38). Nearly a minute later (7:14 left), sophomore Willow Runyon connected on a pair of free-throws following a shooting foul committed by Defiance freshman Zadria King (42-40). With 6:10 left, junior McKenzie Cooper was called for a technical foul, which sent sophomore Willow Runyon back to the charity stripe, but this time with a chance to tie. Runyon did just that for Earlham, as she tied the game at 42. Thirty-six seconds later (5:34 left), senior Taylor Steinbrunner scored via an old-fashioned three-point-play, as she converted on a layup and free-throw to give Defiance the lead back 45-42. Twenty-two seconds later (5:12 left), sophomore Willow Runyon responded to Steinbrunner’s three-point play, with a three-point play of her own, as freshman Kalista Friday committed the after-the-basket foul (45-45). The Quakers would take the lead for a matter of sixteen seconds (4:00- 3:44 left) just past the midway point of the fourth quarter, but the Yellow Jackets just kept fighting back. Senior Lauren Criblez would give Defiance a three-point lead with 2:56 to go, as she knocked down a short-range jumper. With 1:41 left, senior Neely Trenshaw trimmed the Earlham deficit to one (50-49), as she connected on a pair of free-throws at the line. Following a (junior) McKenzie Cooper missed three-pointer moments later, the Quakers would take the lead back with just fifty-six seconds remaining as sophomore Bailey Gibson scored on an open layup (51-50). On the Yellow Jackets’ next possession, freshman Addy Allen would turn the ball over, and sophomore Janaiya Bright would capitalize off the Defiance mistake to stretch the Earlham lead to three (53-50). Seventeen seconds later (0:22 left), Bright would extend the Quaker’s lead even further to four (54-50), following a split (1-2) at the free-throw line. With twenty seconds left, senior Taylor Steinbrunner would, unfortunately, turn the ball over, which allowed the Quakers to regain possession and be sent to the free-throw line once again. Sophomore Alexis Gibson would convert on the first free-throw, but miss the second, which allowed Defiance with an opportunity to potentially trim the deficit to a single score. With eighteen seconds left, freshman Kalista Friday was unable to connect from three-point range, which once again sent Earlham to the line following a foul by freshman Addy Allen. Senior Neely Trenshaw would split the free-throws at the line (56-50). The last 2:56 ended up telling the story of this contest, as the Yellow Jackets were left completely scoreless. With this victory, the Quakers picked up just their second win of the season to date and their first win in HCAC conference play. Earlham finished with four players in double-figures, including sophomore Janaiya Bright (11), sophomore Willow Runyon (11), sophomore Amari Bradford (11), and sophomore Bailey Gibson (10). The Yellow Jackets had nobody in double-figures, but graduate Taylor Day was the leading scorer with nine. The Quakers shot 36.5% (19-52) from the field, while the Defiance shot 31.6% (18-57). Both teams struggled from three-point range as Defiance shot 18.5% (5-27) and Earlham shot 9.5% (2-21) from downtown. Earlham made their way to the free-throw line twenty-two times in this contest in which they capitalized on a sixteen of those attempts (72.7%), while Defiance shot 69.2% (9-13) from the charity stripe. The Quakers out-rebounded the Yellow Jackets 40-37.

When senior Nicole Sims was asked by The Defender about her thoughts following Wednesday’s loss against Earlham, she expressed, “They simply outplayed us tonight. We have to go back and work on our defense and move on to the next game. The best thing we can do is learn from this experience and improve starting tomorrow in practice.“

1/21: Franklin College 62 (7-10), Defiance 49 (6-11)

The Yellow Jackets women’s basketball team traveled to Franklin, Indiana, Saturday afternoon to take on the Franklin Grizzlies in HCAC conference action. The starters in this contest included (graduate) Taylor Day, (senior) Taylor Steinbrunner, (senior) Nicole Sims, (junior) McKenzie Cooper, and (sophomore) Teagan Hunt. Twenty-four seconds into the contest (9:36 left in the 1st), graduate Taylor Day put the Yellow Jackets on the scoreboard first, as she was able to find an opening in the Grizzlies’ defense for the easy layup (2-0). One minute and twenty-four seconds later (8:12 left in the 1st), senior Taylor Steinbrunner copied the exact formula that Day used to score the opening basket, as Taylor scored via a layup to give Defiance an early 4-0 advantage. The Yellow Jackets would hold a 10-7 lead with 3:03 left in the opening quarter, thanks to an early eight points from graduate Taylor Day, but Defiance would give up the lead moments later as Franklin would end up going on a 12-0 scoring run to end the quarter (19-10). The 12-0 Grizzly scoring run continued into the second quarter, as freshman Lauryn Bates converted on a pair of free throws following a foul by junior McKenzie Cooper, to put Franklin up eleven (21-10). The Yellow Jackets would only score four points in the entire second quarter (a pair of free-throws from senior Taylor Steinbrunner and a mid-range jump shot from graduate Taylor Day), while Franklin scored 17 points in the second period to put them up twenty-two (36-14) into the halftime break. With 6:08 left in the third quarter, Defiance found themselves down twenty (40-20), but this would soon change. In the ensuing two minutes (4:08 left in the 3rd), graduate Taylor Day went on an 8-0 scoring run of her own, as she connected on a pair of layups and four free-free throws. Twenty seconds later (3:38 left in the 3rd), junior McKenzie Cooper would add to Day’s impressive scoring run with a made mid-range jump shot, to trim the Defiance deficit to ten (40-30). At the end of the third quarter, the Yellow Jackets found themselves down by eleven (47-36). Fifteen seconds into the fourth quarter (9:45 left), graduate Taylor Day split a pair of free throws, which once again cut the deficit to ten (47-37). Both teams would trade baskets for most of the fourth quarter, as Defiance still trailed by ten (54-44) with 4:33 left, but in the final 3:47, the narrative would change. Franklin would end the game on an 8-5 scoring run, which provided them with a thirteen-point victory (62-49). Super senior Taylor Day scored a career-best 29 points in the contest as she scored eight of the Yellow Jackets’ 10 first-quarter points and two during the second before she exploded for 12 more in the third. Day scored an additional seven points in the fourth quarter, including the last bucket of the game, to put her at 29 points. Junior McKenzie Cooper was the only other Yellow Jacket to score in double-figures, as she finished with 13. Franklin finished with a trio of players in double-figures, including freshman Jordan Coon (19), sophomore Jasmine Walker (12), and sophomore Georgia Hanauer (11). The Grizzlies shot 43.4% (23-53) from the field, while the Defiance shot 29.3% (17-58). Franklin hit eight threes in this contest on twenty attempts (40%), while Defiance shot 6.7% (1-15) from downtown. Both teams shot well from the free-throw line as the Yellow Jackets shot 77.8% (14-18) and the Grizzlies shot 72.7% (8-11). Franklin out-rebounded Defiance 40-31.

Men’s Basketball: Wed. Jan. 18 and Sat. Jan. 21

1/18: Earlham College 74 (3-13), Defiance 66 (5-11)

The Defiance College men’s basketball team traveled to Richmond, Indiana, Wednesday evening to take on the Earlham Quakers in an HCAC conference matchup. The starters in this contest included (senior) Marell Jordan, (senior) Te Jones, (sophomore) Landen Swanner, (freshman) Evan Conrad, and (freshman) Ried Jury. Fifty-nine seconds into the first half (19:01 left in the 1st), senior Te Jones connected on a mid-range jumper from the right wing, to give the Yellow Jackets the first lead of the contest (2-0). Twenty seconds later (18:41 left), senior Jaden Terry found an open lane to the basket for the layup, to tie the game at two. With 18:12 left in the first, senior Te Jones found the bottom of the net once again, but this time from inside the paint (layup), to return the lead to Defiance 4-2. Ten seconds later (18:02 left), graduate Anthony Phillips splashed home a three-pointer from downtown, to give Earlham their first lead of the contest 5-4. Both teams would swap the lead numerous times in the next eight minutes, but Defiance was able to grab a three-point lead (21-18) at the midway point of the first half. In the next four minutes, the Quakers would go on an 11-1 scoring run to take their largest lead of the game thus far at seven (29-22). Defiance would trim the deficit back to four (31-27) with 4:24 left in the first half, but Earlham quickly built the lead to double-digits (37-27) with less than three minutes left until halftime (2:54 left in 1st). Thankfully, the Yellow Jackets would end the first half on an 8-3 scoring run, thanks to a (senior) Marell Jordan three-pointer and short-range jumper, as well as a (sophomore) Landen Swanner score from downtown, to cut the Defiance deficit to five (40-35) into the locker room. Thirty-eight seconds into the second half (19:22 left), freshman Carter Abshear found some separation in the Defiance defense to score an easy basket from inside the paint for Earlham to stretch the lead back to seven (42-35). Abshear’s layup began what would eventually become a 12-0 scoring run for the Quakers (15:58 left), which helped them grow their lead to seventeen (52-35). Over the next three minutes, the Yellow Jackets responded with an impressive 12-0 scoring run of their own, to cut the Earlham lead back to five (52-47) with 12:44 left to play. Just prior to the midway point of the second half (10:04 left), senior Jerome Johnson kept Defiance within striking distance as he splashed home a shot from deep three-point range (56-50). With 9:02 left, senior Kiewaun Graham trimmed the Yellow Jackets’ deficit even further to four (56-52), as he connected on a pair of free throws following a foul by senior Jaden Terry. Twenty-seven seconds later (8:35 left), freshman Joffrey Nunnally brought the momentum back into the hands of the Quakers as he splashed home a three-pointer from the left wing, which stretched the Earlham lead back to seven (59-52). In the next two minutes (6:35 left), Defiance would score four straight unanswered points at the free-throw line, from senior Marell Jordan, to cut the deficit to just three (59-56). With 4:14 left, Earlham would find themselves up nine (65-56) thanks to a 6-0 scoring run that included a layup from junior Zachariah Andre, a jumper from freshman James Holder, and a pair of free-throws from senior Tommy Makabu. Senior Marell Jordan would respond with a made contested jumper from the left wing thirteen seconds later (4:01 left), to trim the Quakers lead to seven once again (65-58). Defiance had a few opportunities to try and trim the deficit even further, but they were unable to connect on those open looks from downtown. The Quakers’ second-half scoring consistency made the difference in this contest, as Earlham picked up the victory 74-66. The Quakers finished with four players in double-figures, including freshman Casey Keesee (20), senior Jaden Terry (13), senior Tommy Makabu (12), and freshman Joffrey Nunnally (10). Defiance finished with a pair of players in double-figures, including senior Marell Jordan with 28 points and sophomore Landen Swanner with 13. Both teams shot almost identically, as the Yellow Jackets shot 47.8% (22-46) from the field, while Earlham shot 47.4% (27-57). The Quakers hit nine threes in the contest on eighteen attempts (50%), while Defiance shot 40% (6-15) from downtown. Earlham shot an impressive 78.6% (11-14) from the free-throw line, while Defiance shot 64% (16-25) from the charity stripe. The Yellow Jackets out-rebounded the Quakers 30-28, including a 22-20 defensive-rebound advantage. Earlham had 34-28 points in the paint advantage.

When senior Grant Johnson was asked by The Defender about his thoughts following Wednesday’s loss at Earlham, he expressed, “We just have to keep our heads up and battle through these tough times. With us now at the midway point in conference play, we still have a chance to play everyone in conference one more time, and we look forward to the challenge.“

1/21: Franklin College 67 (11-6), Defiance 40 (5-12)

The Yellow Jackets men’s basketball team traveled to Franklin, Indiana, Saturday afternoon for an HCAC conference showdown against the Franklin Grizzlies. The starters in this contest included (senior) Marell Jordan, (senior) Te Jones, (sophomore) Landen Swanner, (freshman) Ried Jury, and (freshman) Cole Wojciechowski. Thirty-four seconds into the game (19:26 left in the 1st), senior Marell Jordan scored the Yellow Jackets’ first points as he splashed home a deep three-pointer from the left wing, to put Defiance up early 3-2. Both teams struggled to find the bottom of the net in the first half, as nearly midway through (9:55 left in the 1st), only 21 points were scored up to this point. With the lack of scoring, the Yellow Jackets found themselves down by three (12-9). Besides Jordan’s opening three-point tray, freshman Cole Wojciechowski scored a layup, sophomore Landen Swanner made a mid-range jump shot, and senior Te Jones scored on a short-range jump shot. In the ensuing two minutes and fifteen seconds (7:40 left in the 1st), Franklin sophomore Ryan Bostic would go on a 5-0 scoring run of his own, as he scored via a mid-range jump shot and a three-pointer, to put the Grizzlies up eight (17-9). Defiance would return to the scoreboard with 7:02 left in the first half, as freshman Jakob Trevino found separation in the Franklin defense and an open lane to the basket, to score a layup (17-11). Sophomore Clayton McCorkle returned to action in this contest following an injury, and he made his presence known, as with 5:54 left in the opening half, McCorkle buried a corner three to cut the Yellow Jackets deficit to just seven (21-14). In the remaining 5:54 of the first half, though, Defiance would end up cold as they were outscored 10-5 to put the Yellow Jackets down eleven (30-19) at the halftime break. One minute and twenty-five seconds into the second half (18:35 left), freshman Cole Wojciechowski scored the first points for either team in the second half, as he converted on an open layup (30-21). Twenty-seven seconds later, though (18:08 left), junior Logan Hudgins returned Franklin’s lead to double-digits (32-21) as he scored a layup off a collapse in the Defiance defense. With 17:38 left, senior Marell Jordan added his name to the layup party, as he went from left to right to put in the basket (32-23). In the next four and a half minutes (13:08 left), the Grizzlies went on a 10-0 scoring run, which provided them with a comfortable nineteen-point lead (42-23). Senior Marell Jordan was able to put a stop to the Franklin scoring spree, as he connected on a contested mid-range jump shot with 12:47 left to play (42-25). Both teams traded baskets for the majority of the ensuing eight minutes, as Franklin found themselves up eighteen (57-39) with 4:26 left. The Grizzlies would end the game on a 10-1 scoring run, with sophomore Will Gehlhausen scoring the lone point for the Yellow Jackets (at the charity stripe) in the final 4:28 of play, as Franklin took the victory 67-40. The Grizzlies finished with two players in double-figures, including sophomore Trey Flatt with 16 points and sophomore Ryan Bostic with 13. Senior Marell Jordan was the lone Yellow Jacket in double-figures with 11. Franklin shot 51% (25-49) from the field, while Defiance shot 27.9% (17-61). Both teams struggled from three-point range as the Grizzlies were 3-16 (18.8%) and the Yellow Jackets were 4-26 (15.4%). Franklin shot an overwhelming twenty-six free throws, but they were only able to convert on fourteen of those attempts for 53.8% at the line. Meanwhile, Defiance went to the line just four times, and they converted on two for a 50% effort. The Yellow Jackets narrowly out-rebounded the Grizzlies 37-36. Points off turnovers played a major role in the outcome of this game, as Franklin scored 20 points off 16 Defiance turnovers, while Defiance was only able to score five points off 10 Franklin turnovers. The points in the paint differential were also substantial, as the Grizzlies held a 42-22 advantage in this category.

Wrestling: Sat. Jan. 21

The Yellow Jackets wrestling team traveled to Cleveland, Ohio, Saturday morning to take part in the Dr. Si Ostrach Duals at Case Western Reserve University. As a team, Defiance lost all four duals, but they had some solid individual efforts throughout the program. Senior Seth Majewski, senior Rigo Villa, and sophomore Joey Perez all went unbeaten during the four duals for Defiance. Meanwhile, senior Alejandro Castro went 3-1 in competition, and senior Keringten Martin went 2-2. Junior Brent Eicher was among three Yellow Jackets to earn wins in exhibitions. Two of those exhibition winners picked up their first collegiate wins, as sophomore Kliever Joseph defeated a Case Western Reserve University opponent in the 141 weight class and freshman Lesly Fleurissaint was victorious against a St. John’s Fisher College opponent in the 285 weight bracket. The day started off with a dual matchup with Penn College of Technology, where Defiance dropped the dual as a team 36-16. Seniors Seth Majewski, Alejandro Castro, and Rigo Villa, as well as sophomore Joey Perez, each recorded wins for the Yellow Jackets against Penn, while six matchups went the other way, including a no-contest at 174. Junior Brent Eicher picked up a win by fall in an exhibition match in a battle at 157. Defiance then met up with host Case Western Reserve University, where Majewski and Villa recorded victories. The duo earned seven points for the Yellow Jackets, compared to 47 points in eight victories, with forfeits at 125 and 174 for the Spartans. Sophomore Kliever Joseph picked up a victory in the 141 weight class by fall in 3:50. The third dual of the day for Defiance was a tighter affair with St. John’s Fisher College, where the Yellow Jackets fell 30-22. Majewski and Villa each secured wins in the 133 and 285 weight classes, respectively, and they were joined by Castro and Perez in the 157 and 184. Senior Keringten Martin pinned his opponent in 1:05 to pick up another Jacket victory in the dual meet against St John’s Fisher College. Freshman Lesly Fleurissaint picked up his first win during this dual by pinning his 285 opponent in 1:55. The Yellow Jackets finished the day against Thiel College, where they, unfortunately, lost 30-21. Seniors Seth Majewski, Alejandro Castro, Keringten Martin, and Rigo Villa, all recorded wins, along with sophomore Joey Perez with a no-contest at 184. Defiance and Thiel each won five bouts, but Thiel went the distance in the 157, 165, and 285 matches to award them the dual victory.

Home

Wednesday, Jan. 25

Men’s Basketball (5-12) vs Mount St. Joseph University (6-11)

Location: Karl H. Weaner Center

(7:30 pm)

Women’s Basketball (6-11) vs Hanover College (13-5)

Location: Karl H. Weaner Center

(12:00 pm)

Men’s Basketball (5-12) vs Hanover College (10-7)

Location: Karl H. Weaner Center

(2:00 pm)

Away

Wednesday, Jan. 25

Women’s Basketball (6-11) at Mount St. Joseph University (8-8)

(7:30 pm)

Friday, Jan. 27

Wrestling at Wheaton College (Pete Wilson Invitational)

(7:00 pm)

Saturday, Jan. 28

Wrestling at Wheaton College (Pete Wilson Invitational)

(11:00 am)

Women’s Track & Field at Tiffin University (Tiffin Invitational)

(12:00 pm)

Men’s Track & Field at Tiffin University (Tiffin Invitational)

(12:00 pm)