For the first 20 minutes, Tiffin University's women's basketball team exhibited some of its patented hard-nosed defense. But the second half proved a different story, as Grand Valley State handed the Dragons their first loss of the season 69-63 at the Gillmor Center.

TU led at the half 26-23 in a tight affair. The Dragons never trailed in the opening 20 minutes and held the Lakers to just 35 percent shooting from the floor. Ten Dragons turnovers, however, kept the game close.


The Lakers exploited their inside game after the intermission. They shot 60 percent from the field in the second half, dominating the paint by a 36-20 advantage. While scoring just 23 points in the first half, the Lakers doubled that amount in the second half (46 points).

The Lakers put together a 20-7 run four minutes into the second half that pushed their lead to 53-40 with 7:00 to play. TU tried to get back into the game at the free throw line, but the Lakers inside play and high percentage shooting never game the Dragons a chance to cut to closer than 6 points as time ran out.

Mandy Jaeb led the Dragons with 26 points while Karli Mast also had 10 points and 7 rebounds with 4 assists and 4 steals. Jessica Harris had 9 points and 5 rebounds while Melissa Gilliland also had 7 points. Holly Focke added 9 rebounds to lead the team.