HANOVER, Ind. – The Panthers (3-4 overall, 2-0 HCAC) shot past the Yellow Jackets of Defiance on Saturday afternoon in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference action, claiming the contest 96-43.
 
Three Panthers landed in double figures led by an impressive performance from junior Grace Bezold (Covington, Ky.) with a game-high 32 points. She also added seven rebounds.  Freshman Reagan Martin (Spencer, Ind.) netted 12 points and senior Reese Sexton (Louisville, Ky.) added 10 points.
 
The opening frame would see Hanover destroy the Yellow Jackets on the offensive side of the floor. Leading the 9-0 surge was junior Katherine Benter (Brownstown, Ind.) who helped propel HC on top 9-2. The scoring frenzy ensued as Sexton made it rain from three-point before a sophomore Alexis Wines (Lebanon, Ind.) three-pointer gave HC the commanding 28-4 advantage.
 
The Blue and Red were all gas extending their lead to 31-6 at the 7:34 mark in the second quarter. Bezold went to work in the paint using some fancy footwork to help push the difference to 41-14. Hanover entered the intermission with the commanding 49-23 lead.
 
The second half saw the Panthers capture their largest lead to date, 55-26, at the 7:50 point following a junior Kady Clancy (Scottsburg, Ind.) layup. Clancy struck once more at the 5:54 point to pace a 23-0 run that closed out the frame en route to the 78-28 advantage.
 
The largest lead of the afternoon came with just 17 seconds remaining as Hanover shot to the 96-41 advantage. Defiance recorded the final bucket as the Panthers stampeded the Yellow Jackets 96-43.
 
Hanover returns to action on Wednesday, Dec. 13 when they head to Rose-Hulman. Tip-off is slated for 7:30 PM.