Franklin, Ind. - The Franklin College women's basketball team opened the contest on a 14-2 spurt and did not look back in defeating Earlham College 74-43 on Saturday in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) action inside the Spurlock Center.

The Grizzlies (13-6, 9-3 HCAC) held a 19-10 lead after the opening quarter, but built the margin to 35 points entering the fourth quarter.

Sophomore Kelsey Smith (Lexington, Ind./Scottsburg) scored a career-high 16 points to lead a balanced offensive attack. She added four rebounds, three assists, and three steals.

Sophomore Riley Achenbach (Shelbyville, Ind./Shelbyville) also reached double figures with a career high scoring performance. The guard scored 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds off the bench.

Senior Katie Brewer (Indianapolis, Ind./Roncalli) scored 14 points, while junior Kayle Comer (Brownsburg, Ind./Brownsburg) chipped in 12 points. Junior Lauren DeSutter (Pittsboro, Ind./Tri-West) added eight points in the victory.

Franklin held Earlham scoreless for the first four minutes in each of the first three quarters. The Grizzlies opened the second half on a 12-0 run to stretch the lead to 32 points.

Franklin returns to action on Wednesday, February 3, at 7:30 p.m. when it travels to Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, Indiana. Live video and statistics of the game will be available. In-game updates will also be available on Twitter (@FCAthletics). Like the Grizzlies on Facebook (www.facebook.com/FranklinCollegeAthletics), and on Instagram (@fcgrizzlies).