NORTH MANCHESTER, Ind. - The Spartans dropped an 88-59 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) matchup to the visiting Hanover College Panthers in women's basketball action on Saturday, February 11. 

Prior to the start of Saturday's game, Manchester women's basketball honored its senior class of Hannah Lindsey, Bailey Keim, fifth-year Bridget Nash, and student assistant Yilian Rodriguez. 

The Panthers jumped out to a 6-0 lead to start the opening quarter of play on Saturday. Hanover outscored the Black and Gold 20-10 and 23-18 in the first and second quarters to grab the 43-28 lead at halftime. 

Hanover saw their biggest lead of the night, 37 points, with 5:39 left on the clock in the fourth quarter. The Panthers would propel themselves to the 88-59 victory on Saturday afternoon after outrebounding the Spartans 48-27. 

Grace Bezold led the Panthers with 19 points and 2 blocks. Katherine Benter added 16 points for Hanover, while Anna Bauer finished the afternoon with a team-high 10 rebounds. Taylor Heath had 4 steals for the Panthers. As a team, Hanover shot 51.4% from the field, 45.5% from beyond the three-point arc, and 68.8% from the free throw line. The Panthers improved to 15-6,12-2 HCAC. 

Bridget Nash (Carmel, Ind., Bishop Chatard) and Bailey Keim (Denver, Ind., North Miami) led the Black and Gold with 10 points apiece during Saturday's contest. Maddi Smith (Kewanna, Ind., Caston) finished the night with 9 points while Hannah Lindsey (Speedway, Ind., Speedway) added 7 points and a team-high 7 rebounds for the Spartans. As a team, Manchester shot 36.5% from the field, 33.3% from three-point range, and 77.8% from the free throw line. 

The Spartans (8-13,4-10 HCAC) have two games left in the regular season. Manchester women's basketball will travel to Bluffton on Tuesday, February 14 before hosting rival Anderson University in their regular season finale on Friday, February 17.