Franklin College pulled away from the Anderson University women's basketball team with a 68-62 victory during Saturday's Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) matchup in O.C. Lewis Gymnasium.
The Grizzlies (8-4, 4-2) held a 64-48 lead in the fourth quarter. Franklin held onto the win despite a 14-4 run from the Ravens (5-8, 1-5) to close the game.
Franklin, a team which entered Saturday's contest as the HCAC leader in steals per game, overwhelmed Anderson with defensive pressure as Franklin collected 16 steals and Anderson totaled 27 turnovers. However, Franklin also struggled with turnovers. The Grizzlies turned the ball over 22 times, which includes 17 unforced turnovers. Franklin outscored Anderson 24-19 off turnovers.
The Grizzlies finished with a 31-25 rebounding advantage, including a 14-7 advantage on offensive rebounds. In terms of field-goal attempts, Franklin held a 58-41 advantage against Anderson.
Anderson was missing Lexi Dellinger due to injury. The sophomore from Berne was leading the team with 15.1 points per game prior to her injury.
"Franklin is a physical and scrappy defensive team and I knew we would have our hands full managing their pressure without Lexi," Coach Lindsay Shade said. "Unfortunately, we really struggled to get into our half-court offense and this is the third game in a row where we have had a huge discrepancy in shot attempts due to turnovers and offensive rebounds. The most disappointing part is that we let our offensive frustration impact our defensive effort and intensity. I think that is reflective of a lack of emotional maturity and mental toughness."
The Grizzlies converted 26-of-58 (44.8 percent) shots from the field and 2-of-11 (18.2 percent) attempts from 3-point range. Anderson hit 18-of-41 (43.9 percent) shots from the floor and 6-of-13 (46.2 percent) attempts from behind the arc.
The Ravens knocked down 20-of-24 (83.3 percent) shots from the free-throw line while the Grizzlies made 14-of-19 (73.7 percent) from the charity stripe.
Payton Moore led the Ravens with 16 points. Hanna Ault turned in 15 points. Cassie Pallett posted a career-high nine points. Hannah Hawkins recorded eight points and 10 rebounds. Allie Owens contributed five points. Kristin Dubois scored four points, Jade Shipley added three points and Mariah Clemons rounded out Anderson's scoring with two points.
"We have dug ourselves quite a hole in conference play. I still believe in this team and know our best days are in front of us. But we have to be willing to come in and do the hard work on a daily basis. Right now we are not consistent enough in our practice habits."
Anderson is scheduled for two HCAC matchups next week. The Ravens host Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (1-12, 0-6) on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. in O.C. Lewis Gymnasium. Anderson then takes on Bluffton University (8-5, 2-4) on Saturday at 2 p.m. in Bluffton, Ohio.
