HANOVER, Ind. – The defensive pressure from the Panthers deemed to much for Manchester as Hanover cruised to the 69-52 victory on Saturday afternoon.  
 
The Blue and Red saw three players finish in double-figures led by sophomore Callie Wilder (North Vernon, Ind. / Jennings County) with her first double-double of the season. The sophomore pulled in 11 rebounds and netted 10 points. Senior Savannah Courtney (Lawrenceburg, Ky. / Franklin County) registered a game-high 15 points, while teammate freshman Addie Gardner (Anderson, Ind. / Frankton) chipped in 13 points.
 
The opening quarter saw both teams exchanging buckets for several minutes before a Panther 15-0 run capped off by a freshman Maddi Sears (Carmel, Ind. / University) three-pointer at the 1:25 mark gave HC the 21-8 lead. They carried the momentum late into the period as Hanover cranked up the defensive pressure forcing a Spartan turnover that led to a Courtney score, 23-9.
 
The Panthers carried the momentum into the second stanza as a Wilder jumper followed by a junior Lanette Blume (St. Anthony, Ind. / Forest Park) fast break pushed the difference to 27-11. Manchester looked to make a run with just over five minutes remaining but fell unsuccessful as the Panther front court pressure forced 15 first half turnovers. The Blue and Red entered the break with the 38-25 advantage.
 
Courtney dominated the early minutes of the second half as back-to-back scores gave Hanover the 41-27 lead. The hot shooting continued as Gardner deemed clutch down the stretch using a 4-0 run of her own to extend the difference to 45-29 with 5:26 to play. Hanover carried the 16-point lead into the final period as a Courtney layup capped off the period, 50-34.
 
Manchester looked to make a push in the final quarter but the Panthers delt to much as a junior Liz Tynan (Columbus, Ind. / Columbus North) layup with 3:31 to play gave Hanover its largest lead of the afternoon, 64-44. The Blue and Red would finish the contest shooting 32.4 percent from the floor en route to the victory.
 
Hanover returns to action on Thursday, January 21, as they take on Rose-Hulman. Game time is set for 7:00 pm.