LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Hanover women's basketball team had three players score in double figures Friday night but saw its 2018-19 season come to an end in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament semifinals, falling to Rose-Hulman in neutral-site action, 80-61.

Junior Alexis Nall (Mount Vernon, Ind.) scored 16 of her team-high 21 points in the second half. Nall did most of her damage at the line where she went 10-for-11. The junior added 15 rebounds to finish the season with 15 double-doubles, accomplishing the feat in the final seven outings.

In their final collegiate contest, seniors Claire Cromer (Wabash, Ind.) and Avery Chezem (Loogootee, Ind.) finished with 10 points each. Chezem added three rebounds and two assists, while Cromer paced the Panthers with four helpers.

Three other players made the scoring column for HC, led by junior Kristin Mills' (Cincinnati, Ohio) eight points off the bench. In the starting lineup juniors Katie Hartman (Madison, Ind.) and Brooke Todd (Vevay, Ind.) pitched in with seven and five points, respectively. Todd logged three assists as well.

A trey from Hartman, followed by a tip-in by Nall gave HC an early 5-2 advantage. The lead though, would be the Blue and Red's largest of the contest and came just 1:56 into play. The Fightin' Engineers (20-6), the tournament's No. 2 seed, responded with a 15-0 scoring run to take a 17-5 edge with 2:37 remaining in the period.

Leading by 12 points by the first quarter's end, Rose-Hulman pushed its lead to as many as 19 points in the second stanza. With Hanover shooting below 29 percent in the first half, the Engineers led 42-24 at the intermission.

Hanover's deficit ballooned to as many as 23 points early in the third quarter, 55-32, but by the period's end the Panthers trailed by only 16 at 59-43. Nall and Mills combined for 14 of Hanover's 19 points in the third frame.

The Panthers closed the gap to as little as 12 points in the fourth, as a jumper from Chezem and a three-pointer by Cromer made the score 65-53, in favor of RHIT, with 6:03 remaining. The Engineers however, would deny any comeback opportunity by HC and eventually pulled away for the 80-61 decision.

Rose-Hulman enjoyed a 46-14 edge in the paint, which was a main contributor to a .517 (30-58) to .298 (17-57) advantage in total field goal percentage. The Engineers were also on the right side a 42-28 tally in rebounds.

Hanover concludes its season with a 19-8 overall record, its highest win total under fourth-year head coach John Jones. The Panthers' 14-4 conference mark was also a program best with Jones at the helm.

Contact: Tyler Jester

jestert@hanover.edu