Women's Basketball Picks Apart Yellow Jackets for Comfortable Victory

(Defiance, Ohio)-- The Cleary Cougar women's basketball team took care of business in a big way Wednesday evening, as they earned a 92-43 victory on the road against the Defiance College Yellow Jackets.

The first quarter was a slugfest, as the two teams traded baskets through the opening four minutes of play.  Izzy Dugal would make a layup to give Cleary a 7-6 lead, and Cleary would never trail the rest of the way.  Dugal would score two more layups on the next two possessions to help give the Cougars some cushion, but the Yellow Jackets would hang around through the end of the quarter, as Cleary led 16-11.

After each team scored to open the second quarter, and with Cleary leading 17-13, Jess Andrew would make a three that started a 24-0 run that helped give the Cougars a 41-13 lead with 3:44 to play in the half.  After a Defiance free throw to stop the initial run, Cleary's run would continue through the half, with Evalyn Cole scoring the final points of a 48-16 first half.  Cleary outscored the Yellow Jackets 32-5 in the second ten minutes of game play.

The third quarter would see Cleary continue to build on their effective brand of basketball.  Jess Andrew, Samantha Hoelscher, and Izzy Dugal would all combine to score easy points in the paint, while the defense remained stifling.  A Karissa Cochran three pointer would make the score 66-18 late in the quarter.  After Defiance added three more points, Mackenzie Stein hit back to back threes to give Cleary a fifty-one point lead late in the third quarter.  

The Cougars would continue to keep the offensive train rolling in the fourth quarter, as they were able to put up a 92-43 win when the final horn sounded.

9/10 Cougars would find their way into the scorebook, and the team was led by Izzy Dugal who had a game high 19 points to go with 10 rebounds.  Jess Andrew would have 14 points and 6 rebounds, while Samantha Hoelscher and Caitlyn Rayl each had 13 points.  Mackenzie Stein rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points.

Cleary improves to 13-14 overall, 11-10 in the WHAC.  The Cougars will play their final regular season game on Saturday, February 21, when they host the Lawrence Tech Blue Devils.  The team will recognize this year's senior class prior to the game, and the game will begin at 1:00 PM.