DEFIANCE, Ohio – Defiance's Kelsey Tietje tallied 37 points and 19 rebounds in leading the Yellow Jackets to an 81-70 victory over the Earlham College women's basketball team in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) action on Wednesday.

Defiance jumped out to a 9-0 lead early in the first quarter, but a 14-6 run over four minutes saw Earlham get within two points when freshman Rachel Wilkins hit a jumper off of a pass from senior Kasin Spay. The Yellow Jackets would end the quarter on a 9-4 run, however, and led 24-18 after 10 minutes of play.

The Quakers battled back to tie the game 33-33 midway through the second quarter when junior Lexi McFarland hit a jumper, but could not take the lead. The Yellow Jackets went into halftime up by six after each team posted 21 points in the second quarter.

Earlham scored two of the first three baskets to open the second half and trailed 48-43 with 8:37 to play in the third quarter. Defiance had the answer, however, as the Yellow Jackets went on a 17-4 run to lead by 16 points with two minutes to play in the session.

The Quakers got within 10 points with 3:40 to play in regulation, but could not get the deficit to single digits.

Junior Hannah Franklin led Earlham in scoring with 19 points. Spay added 16 points and five rebounds while McFarland tallied 14 points, three assists, and two steals.

Both teams shot exactly 13-20 from the free throw line. Defiance made five more baskets from the field (31-26) and one more three-pointer (6-5).

The Yellow Jackets grabbed 45 rebounds compared to 30 for the Quakers, despite Earlham forcing Defiance into 15 turnovers.

The Quakers open a three-game home stand on Saturday, facing Anderson at 1 p.m.