DEFIANCE, Ohio—Strong second half scoring sent the Trine women's basketball team past Defiance, 52-38, on Sunday night giving the Thunder its best start since 2000-01.
With the win, Trine moves to 8-1 overall and is 3-0 in Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association play. Defiance falls to 4-5. The Thunder has held five straight opponents to less than 50 points.
Sophomore Brandi Dawson (Garrett, Ind./Garrett) led the Thunder with 21 points and 10 rebounds for her second career double-double. Junior Hayley Martin (Auburn, Ind./DeKalb) added 16 points and six rebounds. With two blocks, Martin moves into third place in the Trine career record books with 63 blocks.
The Thunder got off to a bit of a slow start, but led Defiance 11-7 after Dawson notched nine points in the first quarter. The Yellow Jackets outscored Trine in the second, 14-9, to lead 21-20 going into the second half. Dawson once again led the Thunder in the third notching eight points and five rebounds to help put the Thunder back into the lead 38-33. Trine held Defiance to only five points in the fourth quarter and notched 14 of its own to come away with the victory.
Defiance was led by Kelsey Tietje with 11 points and a game-high 15 rebounds. Ashley Williams added 10 points for the Yellow Jackets.
The Thunder will break for the holidays and return to action Dec. 28 when it will travel to Franklin. Tip off is at 3 p.m.