TIFFIN, Ohio - Tiffin women's basketball had five players in double figures as they took down Ohio Dominican University 93-79 on Saturday afternoon to extend their winning streak to four games.
Allie Miller led the way with 18 points, followed by Annie Santucci with 15. With her second triple of the game, Miller broke into the top-10 in the TU record books in career made three-pointers, as she currently sits eighth with 117 during her time as a Dragon. Sarah Cummings (14), Mary Redmond (13), and Aarion Nichols (12) each also had over ten points.
Tiffin shot over 50% from the floor for their third-consecutive outing, hitting 35-66 for 53%. TU's offense is really starting to fire, as they have scored over 80 points those three games as well after not hitting that mark in any game previously this season.
The Dragons were also very strong from the free throw stripe, converting 16 of 20 attempts. TU outrebounded ODU 36-34, and forced five more turnovers than the Panthers. Tiffin's fast-paced tendencies proved successful on the afternoon as well, as they outscored Ohio Dominican 15-0 on the break.
With the win, Tiffin improves to 7-12 on the year and 4-9 in the conference, keeping their hopes alive for a shot at the GMAC postseason. As of this afternoon, the Dragons are two and a half games back of a three-way tie for sixth-place in the conference with the top eight teams advancing and nine games to play.
The teams battled back-and-forth and remained close for the entirety of the first quarter, before Santucci drained a triple with 22 seconds left to put Tiffin up five, 23-18.
Another Santucci three opened the second quarter scoring and put TU up eight, but midway through the quarter back-to-back buckets by ODU's Kennedy Schlabach tilted the advantage back in the Panthers' favor at 34-31. Ohio Dominican's lead extended to seven, 40-33, with 2:30 left in the half, but Tiffin closed on a small 5-2 run to head into the break down by four.
The deficit was quickly erased, as a Jensen Hiegel layup and Redmond three knotted the score at 43 early in the third quarter. The teams traded blows in for the next five minutes, before a Nichols' layup gave Tiffin a 55-54 lead with 4:19 remaining in the period.
The Dragons proceeded to then break the game wide open, going on a 17-8 run over the rest of the quarter to take a 10-point lead, 72-52, heading into the final 10 minutes.
Tiffin did not let Ohio Dominican back into the game from there on out, as a Cummings jumper gave the Dragons a 16-point lead, 85-69, with 4:34 to play. The lead never dipped below ten oints the rest of the way as TU earned the 14-point win.
The Dragons will look to make it five in a row when they travel to Hillsdale College on Thursday for a 5:30 p.m. start. The Chargers are one of the three teams ahead of the Dragons in the aforementioned three-way tie, so Tiffin will have a chance to make up some ground in the playoff race. The game will also mark the beginning of a five-game road swing for Tiffin, as they will not return to Old Fort Bank Court until Feb. 21.