WESTERVILLE, Ohio - Senior Katie Hartman (Madison, Ind.) led the Panthers with a team-high 14 points as the Blue and Red fell on day two of the Smokey Ballenger Classic hosted by Otterbein on Sunday afternoon. Hanover fell to non-conference foe Trine 76-56. 

Hanover (4-5 overall) saw Hartman land in double figures alongside teammate junior Savannah Courtney (Lawrenceburg, Ky.) with 11 points and three rebounds. 

After a quick Thunder start, the Panthers strung together a small run before a senior Kristin Mills (Cincinnati, Ohio) three-pointer at the 5:32 mark knotted the contest 12-12. The two teams exchanged shots for several minutes when Mills dealt clutch again with a jumper that senior Brooke Todd (Vevay, Ind.) followed up moments later with a free throw for the slim lead. The Blue and Red continued to push the tempo as Hartman hit a bucket in the paint for the 21-17 first quarter advantage.  

However, Trine provided a deep ball to open the second stanza that set the stage for another lead change. The back-an-forth battle continued as Hartman hit a three-pointer of her own followed by a layup in the final seconds to give HC the 36-34 intermission lead. Hanover capitalized early in the third quarter with a three-pointer by sophomore Liz Tynan (Columbus, Ind.) and a Courtney free-throw to push the difference to 40-37. But the Thunder would deem to much as they used an 8-0 run to capture the 54-47 third period lead.

The final quarter saw the Trine offense explode as they outscored the Panthers 22-9 en route to the non-conference victory.

Hanover returns to action on Saturday, January 4 as they travel to Rose-Hulman for Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference action. Game time is set for 2 PM.