HANOVER, Ind. – Despite a balanced offensive effort by Hanover (13-4 overall, 7-3 HCAC), Berea was able to shoot past the Panthers in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference action on Wednesday evening inside the confines of Collier Arena, 71-69.
 
The Berea defense dared the Panthers to shoot long-range as they packed the paint early. Junior Alexis Wines (Lebanon, Ind.) answered the call as she hit a contested three-pointer. The Mountaineers responded with a three-pointer that propelled them to the 13-9 advantage with 5:00 minutes to play. Berea's Jayden Merriweather had the Horner Center raining three-pointers as she landed four in the opening quarter en route to a 22-19 lead.
 
Senior Grace Bezold (Covington, Ky.) found success at the rim in the second quarter as she used her aggressive style of play to push Hanover back on top, 25-23. But Berea remained red hot from three-point, using their range to catapult the offense. The first-half battle landed in favor of the Mountaineers as they clung to the 40-39 advantage.
 
Berea extended the difference when senior Katherine Benter (Brownstown, Ind.) netted her 14th point of the evening cutting the score to 42-41. The double-digit performance marks her 13th of the season and fifth straight. Bezold found most of her success in a two-man game using the give and go to put Hanover back on top with six minutes to play in the third quarter, 46-42. Hanover outscored Berea 18-13 for a 57-53 difference.
 
The Mountaineers remained poise and continued to shoot well from the floor using a transition layup to capture a fourth-quarter 62-60 lead. They clung to the slim advantage when senior Kady Clancy (Scottsburg, Ind.) recorded a turnaround jumper. The final three minutes saw the lead exchange hands multiple times before ultimately landing in favor of Berea on a last-second layup, 71-69.
 
INSIDE THE STATS
Bezold - 24 Pts. | 6 Reb. | 45.8 FG %
Benter – 20 Pts. | 9 Reb. | 4 Made Three-Pointers
Berman – 10 Pts. | 3 Reb. | 3 Assists
Hanover returns to action on Saturday, Jan. 25 when they travel to Earlham.