DEFIANCE, Ohio – The Defiance College women's basketball team fell to Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference rival Franklin College, 61-52, on Saturday. Sophomore Hannah Harshman led the Jackets with 17 points.

The Yellow Jackets used a quick start out of the gate to take an early, 11-6 advantage over the Grizzlies. Sophomore Kim Bingley started the scoring with a layup and senior Brooke Zachrich added a trey on the next trip down the court. Junior Kim Comden made a jumper to make the score 7-4, and Harshman ended the run with two baskets.

Leading 11-6, Defiance caught fire, and built a lead of 13 points, 27-14, at the 10:22 mark in the first half. The Yellow Jackets made five-of-six-shots during the run, and were a perfect three-for-three at the foul line. Sophomore Erica King connected on two shots from behind the arc, while Harshman sank all three free throws, including one at the end of a three-point play.

Franklin fought back over the next five minutes and took their first lead, 28-27, with 5:31 remaining in the first half. The Grizzlies used a late push to take the half-time lead, 37-31.

Defiance bounced back to start the second half, and kept Franklin scoreless over the first six minutes and 54 seconds of action. The Yellow Jackets used a 7-0 run during that time frame to reclaim the lead, 38-37. Franklin answered with a 9-0 run to take the lead for good, 46-38, with 10:52 left on the clock.

The Yellow Jackets cut the lead to as few as four points, 54-50, with 2:33 remaining, but were unable to reel in the nationally-ranked Grizzlies.

Harshman ended the game shooting six-of-12 from the field and a perfect five-of-five from the stripe. The sophomore also grabbed a team-high nine rebounds. King and Comden also hit double-digits for the Yellow Jackets. King finished with 13 points, while Comden scored 10 points and pulled down four rebounds.

Before the game, Defiance honored senior Brooke Zachrich for her contributions to the women's basketball program. The lone senior scored five points, collected four rebounds and dished out two assists.

With the loss, Defiance falls to 11-14 overall and 9-9 in conference play. Franklin improves to 23-2 overall and 16-2 in the league. The Grizzlies were paced by 18 points and 12 boards from Jessica Prewett.

The Yellow Jackets will enter the upcoming HCAC Tournament as the five-seed. Defiance will play in the quarterfinals against Transylvania on Friday, February 24 at Franklin.