Dragons defeat Carlow on the road 63-54

Aarion Nichols led the Dragons off the bench with 14 points.
Aarion Nichols led the Dragons off the bench with 14 points.

Tiffin University (3-8) capped the 2018 part of their regular season schedule with a 63-54 victory on the road at Carlow University.

The game also was a memorable one for Ali Schirmer, as a first quarter layup made her the 9th TU women's basketball player to eclipse the 1000 point mark in scoring. Her layup was part of a strong 26-11 first quarter outburst that put the game solidly in Tiffin's hands.

With the game tied at 9-9 with 4:40 to go in the opening frame, the Dragons got hot, exploding on a 17-2 run that closed out the quarter and gave them a lead they would not relinquish.

Even though the Dragons cooled off from the field after the opening quarter, they did not allow the Celtics to get on track from the floor. TU held Carlow to just 28 percent from the field, including 1 for 11 from three point. At the halftime break TU held a 35-25 edge.

Entering the fourth quarter TU held a 14 point lead. Carlow managed to narrow the gap to 60-54 with one minute remaining but the Dragons held their composure, not allowing another point while hitting three free throws in the final 30 seconds to put the game away.

TU, which also forced 21 turnovers and outrebounded Carlow 51-47, was led by Aarion Nichols's 14 points off the bench along with 6 rebounds. Jensen Hiegel also had 13 points as only two Dragons reached double figures in scoring.

The Dragons, which shot 32 percent in the game, spread out the scoring and rebounding across the roster. Six different Dragons had 6 or more rebounds, with Georgia Perrott-Hunt leading in rebounds with 9 while also scoring 6 points. Schirmer had 9 points with 7 rebounds, while Sarah Cummings had 4 points and 7 boards. Allie Miller also had 6 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists. Mary Redmond also had 7 points.

Tiffin now takes on the University of Toledo in an exhibition on Dec. 30 at 2 pm before getting back to G-MAC play on the road at Walsh on Jan. 3 at 5:30 pm.