RICHMOND, Indiana – A relentless defensive effort from Earlham College women's basketball sparked the Quakers to a 64-58 win over visiting Defiance College, in Wednesday's Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference contest at the Druley Performance Gym.

The Quakers forced the Yellow Jackets into committing a season-high 31 turnovers, resulting in 26 Earlham points.

THE BASICS

Final Score: Earlham 64, Defiance 58
Location: Richmond, Indiana – Druley Performance Gym
Records: Earlham 6-16, 5-10 HCAC / Defiance 7-15, 6-9 HCAC

HOW IT HAPPENED

A steal and layup by junior Kayla Bowling followed quickly by a Bowling 3-pointer set the tone for the first quarter, as Earlham jumped out to a quick lead. Defiance eventually knotted the game at 5-5, but the Quakers closed out the frame with seven unanswered points and held a 12-5 lead after 10 minutes of play.

Earlham began pulling away in the second quarter on a 10-0 run. A pair of Neely Trenshaw 3-pointers and back-to-back buckets from senior Amy Weisner fueled the surge, which left the Quakers with a 24-9 lead with 7:12 showing on the clock. The Quakers' lead in the frame peaked at 19 points, 37-18, on a Camryn White trey with 1:45 remaining, but the Yellow Jackets scored on a pair of buckets to trim the Earlham lead to 37-22 at the intermission.

Defiance began to make its move late in the third quarter, closing out the frame with a 7-0 run that cut the Earlham lead to 52-45 after 30 minutes. The Yellow Jackets got as close as four points, 57-53, following a Nysha Speed jumper in the paint with 5:06 remaining, and the margin was still at four on a Taylor Day layup with 1:38 to play.

A Zoe Curtis layup extended the Quakers' lead to 61-55, and a pair of Bowling foul shots with 29 seconds on the clock provided some breathing room for the Maroon and White. Defiance's Briana Townley drained a 3-pointer with 11 seconds to play, but the Yellow Jackets would get no closer.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

Curtis led the Quakers with 16 points on a 6-of-9 effort from the floor, while Bowling finished with 15 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Weisner tallied 12 points off the bench.

Earlham shot a respectable 42.6 percent (23-of-54) from the field but was outperformed by a Defiance squad that connected at a 48.9 percent (23-of-47) clip. The Quakers drained five 3-pointers versus the Yellow Jackets, the most for the Maroon and White in their last four outings.

Taylor Day led Defiance with 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Kayln Pickens added 11 points off the bench.

WHAT'S NEXT

Earlham women's basketball closes out its 2019-20 home slate on Saturday, Feb. 15, when it hosts Mount St. Joseph in an HCAC contest. Tip-off is slated for 1:00 p.m. Seniors Amy Weisner, Camryn White, Kyra Joseph, Zoe Curtis, and Maddy Krodel will be recognized in pre-game ceremonies.