Hawkins Rewrites Blocking Record Books

Anderson University women's basketball junior Hannah Hawkins rewrote the Anderson Division III era blocking school records during Wednesday's Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) matchup against Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute.

Hawkins broke the single-season blocking record with 57 blocks so far this season. The 6-foot-2 center from Fairmount tied the career blocking record with 134. Anderson's Division III era dates back to becoming an NCAA institution in 1993. Hawkins broke the single-game blocking record with nine blocks just four days earlier. She blocked five shots against Rose-Hulman on Wednesday.

Rose-Hulman (5-15, 4-9) outlasted Anderson (8-12, 4-9) with a 48-44 victory. The Fightin' Engineers led the Ravens 11-2 after the first quarter. Anderson chipped away at the deficit, but Rose-Hulman put together critical stops to hold Anderson at a distance.

The top six teams make the HCAC Tournament. Anderson is currently tied for eighth and sits one game out of a tie for fifth. As Transylvania University (19-1, 13-0), tied for sixth in the latest Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) poll, and Hanover College (13-6, 12-1) have separated from the rest of the HCAC teams, the remaining eight schools in the HCAC are all within three games of each other and are fighting for the other four spots in the conference tournament.

"This is a tough loss for us and it obviously has big implications for post season play," Coach Lindsay Shade said. "The first quarter was very uncharacteristic for us offensively. We had good, open looks and just didn't capitalize. I was pleased that our defensive effort stayed consistent despite not scoring. We had several opportunities to close the gap in the second half. There were a few key spots where we needed to come up with a defensive rebound and they simply beat us to the ball or we didn't have the discipline to do our job and got beat trying to make an extra play. In a tight game with low possessions, we can't afford to make those mistakes down the stretch."

Anderson turned the ball over 16 times while Rose-Hulman committed 14 turnovers. The Fightin' Engineers outscored the Ravens 17-9 off turnovers.

Anderson converted 18-of-48 (37.5 percent) shots while Rose-Hulman made 19-of-51 (37.3 percent) attempts from the floor.

Lexi Dellinger led the Ravens with 19 points and four assists. Hawkins tallied eight points. Payton Moore notched seven points and seven rebounds. Hanna Ault contributed six points. Carly Hackler and Mariah Clemons rounded out Anderson's scoring with two points each.

The Ravens take on Bluffton University (11-9, 5-8) in HCAC action on Saturday at 2 p.m. in O.C. Lewis Gymnasium.

"I am not giving up hopes for a post season spot and I certainly hope our players aren't either. We will continue pressing forward. We will continue fighting."