Yellow Jackets Sports Weekly Recap (Dec. 5- Dec. 11)

By: Brandon Unverferth

Wrestling: Thurs. Dec. 8

Defiance 40, Wilmington College 12 (Wilmington Dual)

The Defiance College wrestling team welcomed the Wilmington Quakers to the Karl H. Weaner Center Thursday evening for the Wilmington Dual. Both squads were short-handed in this matchup, which led to numerous forfeits. The 125 weight class saw no result, as neither team had a wrestler present for this weight class. In the 133 weight class, senior Seth Majewski won by forfeit, while sophomore Kliever Joseph was victorious via forfeit in the 141 weight class. In the 149 weight class, junior Brent Eicher won by forfeit, while freshman Daniel Gravette was the fourth and final Yellow Jacket victorious via forfeit in the 165 weight class. In the 157 weight class, senior Alejandro Castro faced off against sophomore Garrett Simmons, where Castro took the victory by fall (5:52). In the 174 weight class, Wilmington senior Adrian Salomone won by forfeit. In the 184 weight class, sophomore Joey Perez competed against freshman Alexander Ruth. Joey won by a major decision of 15-1. In the 197 weight class, senior Jack Minner won by fall (1:54) over Quaker freshman Brayden Smith. Finally, in the 285 weight class, freshman Lesly Fleurissaint faced off against junior Mo Sissoko. Sissoko won by fall (2:07).

Men’s Basketball: Sat. Dec. 10

Hanover College 73 (5-2), Defiance 46 (2-5)

The Yellow Jackets men’s basketball team traveled to Hanover, Indiana, Saturday afternoon for an HCAC conference showdown against the Hanover Panthers. The starters in this contest included (senior) Marell Jordan, (senior) Kiewaun Graham, (senior) Te Jones, (junior) Easton Lewis, and (sophomore) Landen Swanner. Forty-one seconds into the game, senior Marell Jordan got the scoring started for Defiance as he knocked down a midrange jumper to tie the game at 2 early on. Following Jordan’s basket, the Panthers went on a 13-0 scoring run over a two-and-a-half minute stretch (15:42 left in the 1st), to push the Hanover lead to 15-2. Midway through the first half, Defiance was able to trim the Panthers lead to six (19-13). In the next six minutes, Hanover went on quite an impressive scoring run as they scored 15 straight unanswered points (4:45 left in the 1st) to stretch the lead to 34-15. At the half, the Panthers had a lead of nineteen (42-23). Sophomore Landen Swanner was the first Yellow Jacket to find the scoreboard in the second half, as he connected on a long-range jumper. Beginning at the 3-minute mark of the second half through the 7-minute mark, Hanover went on a 11-0 scoring run to stretch the Panthers lead to twenty (58-28). At the midway point of the second half, Hanover had a comfortable lead of 62-39. The Defiance bench saw a large amount of action in the final seven minutes of this contest. In the end, Hanover captured the victory 73-46. Senior Marell Jordan led all players in scoring with 27 points. Jordan also recorded four steals and six rebounds. The Panthers had a trio of players in double-digits, including senior Ty Houston (20), sophomore Coleman Sater (17), and junior Brice Gilman (11). Hanover shot 50.9% (28-55) from the field, while Defiance shot 33.9% (20-59). The Yellow Jackets were perfect from the free throw line (2-2), while the Panthers shot 70.6% (12-17) from the charity stripe. Hanover out-rebounded Defiance 40-29, including a 12-10 offensive rebound advantage. The Panthers dominated the points in the paint category 44-14.

When senior Grant Johnson was asked by The Defender about his thoughts following Saturday’s matchup at Hanover, he expressed, “It was great to see us compete from the start to the very end of the contest, but we gotta execute better if we want to start seeing the results we know we are capable of. We have a trio of non-conference games to figure it out.“

Women’s Basketball: Sat. Dec. 10

Hanover College 68 (6-2), Defiance 54 (1-5)

The Defiance College women’s basketball team traveled to Hanover, Indiana, Saturday afternoon to take on the Hanover Panthers in HCAC conference action. The starters in this contest included (senior) Taylor Steinbrunner, (senior) Nicole Sims, (junior) McKenzie Cooper, (junior) Cait Good, and (sophomore) Kaitlin Paul. Senior Lauren Criblez got the Yellow Jackets scoring started 3 minutes and seven seconds into the game, as she found an open lane to the basket for the layup. Hanover followed Criblez’s score with a 5-0 scoring run, which extended the Panthers lead to 8-3 (4:07 left in the 1st). A few moments later (2:49 left in the 1st), junior Cait Good was able to find an open lane to bucket for a layup, thanks to an assist from senior Taylor Steinbrunner. Following Good’s basket, the Panthers went on another 5-0 scoring run to end the opening quarter with a 13-5 advantage. Eight seconds into the second quarter, junior McKenzie Cooper knocked in a midrange jumper from the top of the key, which cut the Hanover lead to six. Midway through the second quarter, junior Reese Sexton for Hanover connected on a pair of free throws following a Defiance foul by junior McKenzie Cooper (21-11). At the half, Hanover was able to maintain a double-digit lead of ten, 29-19. Ten seconds into the third quarter, junior McKenzie Cooper splashed home a three-pointer, which cut the Hanover advantage back to single-digits (29-22). Hanover quickly answered off Cooper’s triple as they went on a 7-0 scoring run to stretch the lead to fourteen (36-22). Midway through the third quarter, the Yellow Jackets went on a 9-0 scoring run of their own, as freshman Kalista Friday punched in a pair of three pointers and junior Cait Good connected on a shot from downtown as well (3:29 left in the third). The Panthers concluded the third quarter on a 8-0 scoring run, which stretched Hanover’s lead back to fourteen (48-34). Just like the first quarter, senior Lauren Criblez found an open lane to the basket to start the fourth quarter with a layup, as she capitalized off an assist from senior Taylor Steinbrunner (48-36). With 6:42 left, freshman Ali Mowen splashed home a three-pointer from the left wing, which cut the Panthers lead back to single digits at eight (52-44). Thirty-two seconds later (6:10 left), senior Lexie Sparks capitalized off a steal from freshman Ali Mowen by finishing the fast break opportunity with an open layup, which cut the Panthers lead to six (52-46). In the next four minutes, however, Hanover went on a 7-0 scoring run to stretch the lead back to thirteen, with a pair of jumpers from junior Taylor Heath and a three-pointer from sophomore Katherine Benter. Junior Cait Good responded with a three-pointer of her own thirteen seconds later (2:08 left), to cut the deficit back to ten (59-49). The Panthers ended the game on a 9-5 scoring run, to take the victory 68-54. Hanover finished with a trio of players in double-digit scoring, including junior Reese Sexton (12), senior Callie Wilder (11), and junior Taylor Heath (10). The Yellow Jackets finished with two players in double-digits, including junior Cait Good (13) and senior Lexie Sparks (10). Hanover shot 37.9% (22-58) from the field, while Defiance shot 33.9% (20-59). The Yellow Jackets knocked down eleven 3-pointers, including nine in the second half alone, while Hanover was only able to connect on five opportunities from behind the arc. Hanover scored 19 points from the charity stripe, while Defiance took just five attempts in the contest from the free-throw line. The Panthers out-rebounded Defiance 46-28, including a 15-8 offensive rebound advantage.

When senior Nicole Sims was asked by The Defender about her thoughts following Saturday’s matchup at Hanover, she expressed, “We played hard from start to finish. Our defense was starting to come together, but we just couldn’t hit shots this afternoon that we normally capitalize on. We kept it a close game and had great runs, with help from their turnovers. Once we are able to consistently execute on both ends of the floor, we will see the results we are looking for.“

Home

Wednesday, Dec. 14

Men’s Basketball (2-5) vs Olivet College (2-4)

Location: Karl H. Weaner Center

(7:30 pm)

Sunday, Dec. 18

Women’s Basketball (1-5) vs Wooster College (1-8)

Location: Karl H. Weaner Center

(1:00 pm)

Away

Tuesday, Dec. 13

Women’s Basketball (1-5) at Adrian College (3-4)

(7:00 pm)

Thursday, Dec. 15

Women’s Basketball (1-5) at Hiram College (4-3)

(7:00 pm)