The first and second halves of the Tiffin University- Lake Erie College women's basketball game had the same theme. In each half, the Dragons raced out to a huge lead, watched it evaporate into a deficit, but would be able to prevail in the end to take an 87-82 victory. Monster games from Mandy Jaeb, Karli Mast, and Jessica Harris ultimately carried the Dragons to the win.

Harris, a freshman, had a double-double by halftime. She ended the night with 15 points while hauling in 17 rebounds and also dishing out four assists. Mast, also a freshman, scored 21 points while dishing out six assists while sophomore Jaeb led all players in scoring with 29 points while grabbing seven rebounds and adding five assists. The win comes as a non conference victory, but was a big statement for the Dragons to send to Lake Erie College as the Strom will be a member of the GLIAC next season.

"We talked about the fact they are coming into the conference next year, and we want to send a message now that Tiffin's not a team that's going to come in and roll over," said Dragons' coach Pam Oswald.

The Dragons started the game with an 8-0 run after Jennifer Johnston hit a three off a Harris pass and a Jaeb three pointer off another Harris pass. Mast then hit a jumper to give the Dragons an eight point cushion with 18:24 left in the first half. The Dragons pushed the lead up to 11 at the 12:50 mark when Jessica Harris hit a jumper off a Mast pass. The Dragons would not be able to hold that lead for long, however, as the Storm kept chipping away at the lead and finally tied the game at 25 with 5:44 remaining.

The Dragons would take leads again, but the Storm tied the game with 1:27 remaining and took their first lead after a three point goal gave them a 39-36 advantage with 1:01 remaining. The Dragons would score the final four points in the first half to take a one point lead into the break. Harris and Jaeb each had two made foul shots to give the Dragons the one point lead.

TU started the second half on an 8-0 run as well. Harris found Jonette McQueen for a jumper and then Mast assisted Jaeb on a three point goal before Johnston hit another triple off a Mast pass. The Dragons would be able to build the lead to 13 when Jordan Jenkins hit a jumper but saw the Storm go on a 13-0 run to tie the game at the 8:39 mark. The Dragons again fell behind by three at the 7:31 mark after a Storm three pointer, but the Dragons tied the game 21 seconds later when Jaeb nailed a three. The Storm came back down the court and hit two free throws after a Dragons foul on McQueen but a Harris jumper followed by two free throws by Jaeb after a defensive stop at 4:59 would give the Dragons the lead for good.

The Dragons used great free throw shooting down the stretch to ice the game. They finished the game 23-26 from the line. Jaeb was a perfect 8-8, while Harris was 7-8, and Mast finished 6-7. Johnston was 2-3 from the stripe.

TU also shot well from three point range. The Dragons finished 10-18 from behind the arc, riding Jaeb's 5-9 and Johnston's 2-4. Mast (1-3) and Jordan Jenkins (1-2) also contributed.

The win improves the Dragons to 4-5 overall while dropping Lake Erie to 8-8. The Dragons resume GLIAC play Saturday as they travel to Ashland.