TIFFIN, Ohio - Tiffin women's basketball rallied in the fourth quarter to pull away from Ursuline on Saturday afternoon, defeating the Arrows 77-69 to improve to 3-1 on the season.
After suffering their first defeat of the year yesterday at the hands of Findlay, the Dragons were not about to let it become two in a row as they doubled up Ursuline in the final period, outscoring the Arrows 20-10.
Aarion Nichols had a signature game for the Dragons, nearly recording a triple-double, or possibly even a quadruple-double, as she tallied 22 points, seven rebounds, nine assists, and six steals. The points, assists, and steals totals are all career-highs for the junior.
Savanah Richards followed with 17 points, five rebounds, and three steals, while Kirsten Williams added a career-best 13 points along with five boards and four steals.
The Dragons shot well from the field, hitting 51.7% of their overall shots despite going just 1-9 (11.1%) from deep. Tiffin outrebounded Ursuline 36-32 and tallied 16 steals to just four for the Arrows.
The teams went back-and-forth over the opening quarter, as Tiffin emerged with a one-point advantage, 21-20, after the first 10 minutes. Ursuline opened the second period with seven straight points, however, taking a 27-21 lead with 7:09 left in the half.
Tiffin quickly clawed right back in it, as Nichols gave the Dragons back the lead on a layup with 3:28 remaining that made it 31-30 in favor of Tiffin. The Dragons would hold that one-point advantage into the break, going into halftime with a 36-35 lead.
The lead changed hands numerous times in the third period before Ursuline gained a 59-57 advantage entering the final 10 minutes. Richards evened the score just 18 seconds into the quarter on a layup, igniting a 10-0 run that put Tiffin on top 67-61 at the 5:19 mark.
The Dragons were able to lock down on defense from there, holding Ursuline to just 10 fourth-quarter points as Tiffin earned the 77-69 win.
Another tough road test now faces TU, as the Dragons travel to preseason GMAC No. 1 Walsh on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. Tiffin then wraps up the December portion of their schedule with a home contest against Malone on Saturday.