TIFFIN, Ohio - Grad transfer Mary Redmond notched a Tiffin career-high 14 points on 4-7 shooting from deep to lead Tiffin women's basketball to a 64-62 victory over Davis & Elkins College on Thursday evening.
In the final minute, Ali Schirmer converted a tough runner in the lane and Aarion Nichols swatted away a potential game-tying shot to seal the win for the Dragons.
Other Dragons in double figures were Allie Miller with 11 and Jasmine Watts with 10. Watts also pulled down a career-high 12 boards for her first double-double in a Tiffin uniform.
TU outrebounded Davis & Elkins 37-33 in the game, and recorded seven more assists than the Senators. The Dragons also enjoyed a significant advantage in points off the bench, as Miller and Watts contributed to a 28-14 margin in that statistic.
With the win, the Dragons improve to 4-12 overall and 1-9 in the conference.
Tiffin got on the board first, as Redmond nailed her first shot of the game from behind the arc to give the home team an early 3-0 lead. The Dragons went cold for a few moments, falling behind 15-8, but an 8-2 run quickly reversed fortune as an Ali Schirmer jumper brought the Dragons within one with 44 seconds left in the opening quarter.
TU would regain the lead early in the second frame, as Redmond put through another triple at the 9:15 mark to give the Dragons a 20-19 advantage. The teams battled back and forth over the remainder of the half, and Tiffin went into the break with a 34-31 lead.
The Senators rallied to take the lead and hold it for most of the third quarter, but another clutch three off the hands of Redmond put things back in Tiffin's favor at 47-46 just before the third quarter buzzer sounded. Watts recorded back-to-back layups to open the fourth, but Davis & Elkins rallied to take a 52-51 lead with 6:38 to play.
Tiffin followed with an 8-3 run of their own, though, taking a 59-56 advantage with 4:45 remaining after two huge triples from Redmond and Schirmer found the bottom of the net.
Neither team was able to convert many more shots down the stretch, and a pair of Jay Kilpatrick free throws tied the game at 62 with 41 seconds remaining. Schirmer responded with the biggest shot of the night, a tough runner in the paint as the shot clock expired to put the Dragons on top. TU forced a Davis & Elkins miss, got the rebound, and got fouled, but could not convert the resulting two free throws to ice away the game.
The Senators got a final chance with one second on the clock, but Jamiyah Johnson's turnaround jumper was blocked by Aarion Nichols to preserve Tiffin's 64-62 victory.