NORTH MANCHESTER, Ind. - The visiting Mount St. Joseph Lions powered past the Spartans 69-54 on Saturday, February 4. 

The Spartans dominated the first quarter of Saturday's game, outscoring the Lions 20-10 going into the second quarter. The Lions would answer, taking a one-point lead with 3:42 left to play in the first half. The Lions would take the 29-27 lead at halftime. 

In the third quarter of Saturday's contest, Mount St. Joseph extend their lead to 10 points with 6:09 on the clock. The Black and Gold would come back to bring the game within 4 points going into the final quarter of play. MSJ powered past the Spartans in the fourth quarter, outscoring Manchester 24-13 to take Saturday's game by a final score of 69-54. 

Anyiah Murphy led the Lions with 21 points and 3 steals during Saturday's game. Madison Drummonds added 19 points and 8 rebounds for MSJ. As a team, Mount St. Joseph shot 37.5% from the field and 88.9% from the free throw line. Following Saturday's win, the Lions improved to 11-8, 8-4 HCAC. 

Jessie Ringen (Rensselaer, Ind., Rensselaer Central) finished the afternoon with her first career double-double, scoring 15 points and pulling down 11 rebounds for the Black and Gold. Hailee Kline (Huntington, Ind., Blackhawk Christian) added 10 points, while Abi Rosenkrans (Pendleton, Ind., Pendleton Heights) tallied a team-high 7 rebounds and 3 steals for Manchester. Bridget Nash (Carmel, Ind., Bishop Chatard) had a team-high 5 assists for the Black and Gold. As a team, the Spartans shot 30.8% from the field and 81.8% from the field. Manchester is now 8-12 overall and 4-9 in conference play. 

Up next, The Manchester women's basketball will go head-to-head against the visiting Hanover College Panthers on February 11 at 4:00 p.m. The women's basketball team will honor its senior class prior to Saturday's game.