With each victory, Tiffin University's women's basketball team seems to break or challenge another milestone.
TU played consistently in both halves, controlling the post against Hillsdale in a 65-52 victory. The win improved the Dragons to 17-6, 12-5 in the GLIAC, and gives the team momentum heading into Thursday night's non-conference game at home with Central State. Another win would give TU 18 victories, tying the single season wins record set by the 1990-91 team.
Tiffin's Mandy Jaeb also continues her assault on the record books, hitting 3 free throws in the game to set a new TU career free throws record with 368. The old record was 367 held by TU Hall of Famer Lois Collins Conrad. Jaeb already holds the career record for free throw percentage (.831).
Tiffin started the game cold, falling behind 18-8 after the first 10 minutes. But then the Dragons caught fire, outscoring the Chargers over the final 10 minutes 25-9 to take a 33-27 lead into the half.
TU matched Hillsdale shot for shot in the second half, maintaining a 8 to 10 point margin for most of the half. The biggest key for the Dragons was their post play, where TU outscored the Chargers 26-18 down low, had 19 second chance points, and outrebounded Hillsdale 39-26.
TU also got solid bench production, outscoring Hillsdale 15-5. Defensively the Dragons forced 26 turnovers and had 15 steals. Tiffin's post play combined with aggressive defense offset the Dragons' own ball-handling issues, as they turned the ball over an uncharacteristic 26 times.
Karli Mast led in scoring with 17 points, while Mandy Jaeb flirted with another triple-double. Jaeb finished with 13 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 steals along with 3 assists. Jillian Adams also played well in another start, scoring 10 points, while Jessica Harris had 8 points and 13 rebounds. Stephanie Kelly added 8 points, and Amanda Baute had 7 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 steals.