Anderson, Ind. - The Franklin College women's basketball team used a 15-1 run over the third and fourth quarters in earning a 52-46 victory over Anderson University in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) play during the regular-season finale on Saturday.

Franklin earned the No. 3 seed for the conference tournament and will host No. 6 seed Defiance College in a first-round contest on Tuesday, February 23, at 7:30 p.m. from the Spurlock Center. The tournament's semifinal and championship rounds will be held at Bluffton University from February 26-27.

Trailing 32-22 late in the third quarter, the Grizzlies scored eight consecutive points to trail 32-30 heading into the final 10 minutes of the contest. The scoring run continued into the fourth quarter with the team adding seven of the first eight points to take a 37-33 lead with 6:30 remaining. Junior Lauren DeSutter (Pittsboro, Ind./Tri-West) scored the first five points of the fourth quarter.

Later, sophomore Kelsey Smith (Lexington, Ind./Scottsburg) connected on a three-point field goal to extend the lead to 40-35 at the 5:42 mark. She scored a career-high 17 points on seven of nine shooting from the floor.

Franklin (18-7, 14-4 HCAC) took a 45-37 advantage after junior Emily Alfrey (Fairland, Ind./Triton Central) made a layup with 3:32 left. The visitors took their largest lead of the game at nine points, 50-41, following Smith's second three-point field goal of the fourth quarter. Anderson would only get as close as five points in the final minute.

The Ravens made five three-point goals to hold a 22-20 halftime advantage. Franklin held Anderson to 1 of 12 shooting from behind the arc in the second half. Meanwhile, the Grizzlies shot 52.4 percent overall from the field during the second half.

Alfrey scored 11 points and grabbed eight points for the Grizzlies. DeSutter added eight points and six rebounds in the victory. Senior Katie Brewer (Indianapolis, Ind./Roncalli) recorded seven rebounds.