NORTH MANCHESTER, IND. – A 14-0 run midway through the first half was enough to propel Manchester University to a Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference win Wednesday, Jan. 14.
A 69-31 victory over league rival Anderson University was spotlighted by 13 Spartans entering the scoring column. Senior center Alyssa Hammond (Osgood, Ind.) led the attack with 13 points and also grabbed seven rebounds, while junior guard Katie Arterburn (Indianapolis, Ind.) was just off double digits, registering nine points as did fellow junior guard Justine Kruger (Francesville, Ind.) who also picked up a team-high four steals.
After a back-and-forth first six minutes, MU (7-7 overall, 4-3 HCAC) took off on the eventual game-deciding run. The Black and Gold was able to keep the pressure on their guests throughout due to better than 41 percent field goal shooting and a 72.2 percent free throw conversion rate. Defensively, they made it just as tough, helping force 35 turnovers from the visiting Ravens (1-13 overall, 0-7 HCAC) and limiting them to less than 40 percent field goal shooting overall and from outside the arc.
The Spartans continue a string of playing five of their next six at home Saturday, Jan. 17. Hanover College visits for a 3 p.m. start.
NOTES: Hammond, moving her team-leading scoring average to 11 points per game, recorded her ninth double-figure scoring and similar total of contests in which she's grabbed five-or-more rebounds. The senior's 5.8 rebounds per appearance are also first for MU … Senior guard Jocelyn Hamilton (Columbus, Ind.), with a squad-best three dish offs, compiled her fifth successive multiple-assist game… Kruger's four steals, tying a personal single-game high this season, marked the eighth time she's picked off multiples in a game … The win was MU's eighth straight and 18 in the last 22 against AU in the all-time series. It was the biggest margin of victory in a game, for the Black and Gold, since Dec. 1, 2010, when Manchester University rolled past Earlham 82-43, and the largest margin in the series for either side since AU claimed a 90-43 win during the 2002-03 campaign.