Box Score HANOVER, Ind. – The Panther defense was the key to the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament opening round victory for Hanover as they were able to force 29 turnovers en route to the 56-40 win over Rose-Hulman. The Blue and Red advance to the quarterfinals at Earlham on Wednesday, March 3. Tip-off is slated for 7:00 PM.
 
The Panthers opened the contest with their tenacious full court press that helped generate their offense. Junior Liz Tynan (Columbus, Ind.) tallied the first steal of the afternoon as she was able to find junior Lexi Riggles (Danville, Ind.) for a transition three-pointer that put Hanover in front. The sporadic pace continued deep into the quarter as Rose-Hulman was able to string together a 7-0 run before senior Savannah Courtney (Lawrenceburg, Ky.) took over with 4:41 to play. The senior ended the scoreless drought with an old fashion three-point play that cut the deficit to 11-8. The Panthers would take the 16-11 lead by the end of the first period.
 
The fast pace battle carried into the second quarter as neither team could really find an offense when a little high low action between freshman Maddi Sears (Carmel, Ind.) and sophomore Callie Wilder (North Vernon, Ind.) gave HC the 20-13 lead with just under six minutes to play. The basket sparked a 6-0 run that helped propel the Panthers to the 31-21 halftime advantage.
 
In the early minutes of the second half, the Panther defense fired on all cylinders as a Courtney scoop and score saw them claim the 35-24 advantage. They continued to pull away as freshman Skylar Sahatjian (Prospect, Ky.) delivered a floater in the lane that sparked another Panther run. The Blue and Red entered the final stanza with the 49-33 lead.  
 
They went on to claim the 56-40 opening round victory over Rose-Hulman, paced by Courtney with a team-high 14 points. Riggles chipped in nine points for the Panthers.