Grizzlies Fight Past Ravens

Franklin College fought past the Anderson University women's basketball team with a 57-52 victory during Saturday's Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) matchup in Franklin.

"This is another tough loss for us after controlling and leading the majority of the game," Coach Lindsay Shade said. "We are so close to really turning a corner and have to find a way to get over the hump in close games."

The Grizzlies (14-9, 10-6) held a 65-51 advantage against the Ravens (9-14, 5-11) in field-goal attempts as well as a 28-17 advantage in free-throw attempts.

Anderson committed 26 turnovers while Franklin turned the ball over 14 times. The Grizzlies outscored the Ravens 25-12 off turnovers.

Franklin also held a 19-10 advantage in offensive rebounds.

"I think what stands out to me are the extra possessions and scoring opportunities Franklin had between our turnovers, their offensive rebounds, and free-throw attempts, and yet, we still could've won the game. When we can control the tempo and make it a half-court game, we are pretty good on both sides of the ball. But you have to give Franklin credit for the way they ramped up their pressure and disrupted our offensive rhythm."

The Grizzlies put together a 42-40 rebounding advantage.

Franklin made 23-of-65 (35.4 percent) shots from the field and 0-for-2 attempts from 3-point range. Anderson converted 17-of-51 (33.3 percent) attempts from the floor and 7-of-19 (36.8 percent) shots from behind the arc.

Lexi Dellinger led the Ravens with 21 points and three steals. Payton Moore notched 15 points and eight rebounds. Jade Shipley contributed nine points. Hanna Ault and Mariah Clemons each scored three points. Allie Owens rounded out the Anderson scoring effort with one point.

The top six teams in the HCAC standings at the end of the year qualify for the HCAC Tournament. Transylvania University (22-1, 16-0), Hanover College (16-6, 15-1) and Franklin have each qualified for the HCAC Tournament. Bluffton University (12-11, 6-10), Defiance College (7-16, 6-10), Earlham College (7-16, 6-10) and Mount St. Joseph University (7-16, 6-10) are each tied for fourth in the conference standings. Anderson, Manchester University (8-15, 5-11) and Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (6-17, 5-11) are each tied for eighth in the conference standings and sit one game out of fourth.

The Ravens are scheduled for two HCAC matchups next week. Anderson clashes with Manchester on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. in North Manchester. The Ravens then host Mount St. Joseph for Senior Day on Saturday at 3 p.m. in O.C. Lewis Gymnasium.