Written by Sports Information Student Assistant, Jake Sipes-Salter

HANOVER, Ind. - In the first of three games on tap this week, the Hanover women's lacrosse team fell to the DePauw Tigers by a 17-3 margin on Wednesday evening.

The Tigers (3-1 overall) got on the board first, hitting the back of the net with 29:36 to go in the first half to put the Panthers (2-2 overall) in an early 1-0 hole. They would score again at 24:30 before senior Kinna Balasko (Fishers, Ind.) hit a free position shot to make it a 2-1 tally with 15:36 left in the period. DePauw scored two more times at 12:38 and 10:59 to put the Blue and Red down 4-1 before sophomore Milah Young (Granger, Ind.) knocked one in to make it 4-2 at the 10:21 mark.

From here until the end of the half, the Tigers scored five straight times, putting HC at a 9-2 halftime deficit. Senior Julia Long (Cincinnati, Ohio) made 11 saves in the half while facing 23 Tiger shots.

In the second half, DePauw opened by hitting the back of the net three times before Young notched her second score with 11:27 left in the contest. This would prove to be HC's lone goal of the half, as the Tigers tallied five more to end the game.

Overall, Long made 13 stops in goal, while playing just over 45 minutes. In relief, sophomore Delaney Benner (Indianapolis, Ind.) made one save, as the Panthers halted 14 total shots. Despite being outshot 39-10, HC was able to put six of their attempts on goal for a .600 shot on goal percentage.

Offensively, Balasko finished with one goal while Young rattled off two scores. Defensively, senior Tayia Davis (Fishers, Ind.) caused two turnovers, while Balasko, along with sophomores Emily Christian (Louisville, Ky.) and Britney Hernandez (Louisville, Ky.) each forced one Tiger giveaway.

Hanover will look to bounce back when they host first-year program UW-LaCrosse at Alumni Stadium, slated for 4 p.m., Friday, March 6.