FRANKLIN, Ind. – The Hanover women's basketball team forced a game-high 38 turnovers, using the momentum to fuel their offense en route to a 65-59 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference victory on Wednesday evening at Franklin. With the win, Hanover moves to 6-5 overall and 3-3 in HCAC action.
 
The Blue and Red were led by freshman Grace Bezold (Covington, Ky.) with a team-high 18 points, while teammates junior Callie Wilder (North Vernon, Ind.) netted 11 points and freshman Taylor Heath (Fairland, Ind.) added 10 points.
 
Hanover rallied in the first quarter capturing the slim 16-15 advantage after falling behind by double digits. Senior Liz Tynan (Columbus, Ind.) paced the comeback as she halted the Grizzlies charge before a sophomore Skylar Sahatjian (Prospect, Ky.) jumper knotted the contest.
 
The Panthers carried the momentum into the second stanza as Bezold deemed clutch connecting for back-to-back jumpers en route to the 24-18 advantage. However, Franklin got the final say hitting a free throw to pull within 28-24 at the intermission.
 
The second half saw the Panther defense continue to fuel their offense as Sahatjian picked up a steal that led to a junior Anna Bauer (Indianapolis, Ind.) layup at the 8:53 mark for the 32-24 advantage. Franklin cut the deficit to as little as 34-33 when freshman Katherine Benter (Brownstown, Ind.) delivered from three-point to push HC out front 41-37.
 
The final quarter would see Franklin cut the deficit to as little as 55-54 when Bezold sank a pair of clutch free throws. The back-an-forth battle continued with Hanover never surrendering the lead using strong shooting down the stretch to secure the victory.
 
Hanover returns to action on Saturday, January 15 when they play host to Manchester. Game time is slated for 4:00 PM.