FRANKLIN, Ind. – Hanover (14-6 overall, 13-2 HCAC) used a fourth quarter push to defeat Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference rival Franklin on the road Wednesday evening, 65-54.
 
Sophomore Grace Bezold (Convington, Ky.) paced the Panther offense with a team-high 20 points, while junior Taylor Heath (Fairland, Ind.) added 14 points and sophomore Katherine Benter (Brownstown, Ind.) 12 points. Senior Anna Bauer (Indianapolis, Ind.) dominated the paint pulling in 13 rebounds.
 
The opening stanza saw the Panthers surge ahead early behind a combined effort from Bauer and Bezold. But Franklin remained poise cutting the difference to 14-11 before knotting the contest with 5:45 to play, 21-21.
 
The back-and-forth battle ensued as the teams went basket for basket before Franklin was able to gain some momentum. The Grizzlies used a 6-0 run to claim the 29-23 lead at the 2:51 mark. They entered the intermission with the slim 31-28 advantage.
 
However, the Hanover offense found a rhythm in the second half with Benter connecting from three-point before a Heath free throw at the 5:06 point tied the contest, 38-38. Bauer pushed HC on top, but the excitement quickly dwindled as Franklin used the home crowd energy to regain the 47-45 difference. 
 
The final frame came down to some late game free throws as Heath was able to give Hanover their first lead at the 4:27 mark following a pair of clutch helpers. Hanover closed out the frame going 16-of-18 from the charity stripe to capture the double-digit win. 
 
Hanover returns to action on Saturday, Feb. 11 when they hit the road for Manchester.