The Tiffin University women's basketball team (1-0) defeated McKendree in their season opener 51-41. This marks head coach Josh Mason's first win as a collegiate head coach.
A low-scoring first quarter as neither team found their rhythm, but McKendree built a 9-6 lead with 3:15 left in the quarter. Tiffin rallied, outscoring the Bearcats 5-2 to tie the game at 11-11 before the end of the quarter.
After being deadlocked at 11-11 for the first three minutes of the second quarter, the Bearcats broke the tie with a layup but the Dragons quickly responded with a jump shot from Jada Tate at 13-13. McKendree had a good second quarter and went into the break with a 24-21 lead.
TU came out of halftime strong, going on an 8-0 run to take a 29-24 lead fueled by six points from Tate. The Bearcats chipped away at the lead but Tiffin went on a 6-2 run to lead 38-30 with less than a minute in the quarter. The Dragons went into the final frame up 38-31.
Tiffin started the fourth quarter outscoring McKendree 7-2, extending their lead to 45-33 with 4:51 left in regulation. Up by double digits, the Dragons cruised the rest of the way to take the 51-41 win.
Jada Tate led Tiffin's offense with 11 points shooting 5-for-9, seven rebounds, and two steals, Jae'onna Sutton came off the bench and scored 10 points, shooting 3-for-10 from the field, four rebounds, four steals, and one assist, and Kaitlyn Moeller had seven points, shooting 3-for-4, two rebounds, and two assists.