Heading into the Lady Dragons regular season finale against Ohio Dominican on Parents Day, Tiffin University (15-11, 9-10 GLIAC) knew they had the eighth seed wrapped up for the GLIAC Tournament starting March 2.

Unfortunately, the Dragons did not put together a playoff-worthy performance against the Panthers (7-19, 5-14), as they opened the game allowing 12 unanswered points before ultimately falling 70-66 in a hardfought battle.


After falling behind by 12 points, the Dragons did battle back, using their defense to force turnovers and eventually tie the game 28-28 at the half.

But the Dragons never got on track shooting from the field, firing at a 34 percent clip for the game, including 3 for 16 from three and just 19 of 28 from the line. The Dragons hung close to ODU all through the second half, pulling to within one basket 10 times in the second half. TU could never take the lead, however, as the Panthers hit the clutch free throws they needed down the stretch (12 for 14 overall) to win the narrow decision.

TU held a 22-8 edge in turnovers to stay in the contest, but ODU held the rebounding advantage 43-35, allowing TU only 7 second chance points.

Mandy Jaeb totaled 18 points with 6 rebounds and 4 assists to lead TU, while Karli Mast had 14 points. Jessica Harris posted a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds, while Holly Focke also had 11 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists with 5 steals.

Tiffin will now travel to Michigan Tech on March 2, taking on the top-seeded Huskies in their first-ever GLIAC tournament appearance.