Box Score DEFIANCE, OHIO – Buoyed by three players ending in scoring double figures and one registering a double-double, Manchester University avenged an early-season Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference loss to Defiance College Wednesday, Feb. 18.
The Spartans, recovering from a shaky first 15 minutes when they struggled due to cold field goal shooting and found themselves trailing 19-13 at one point, used a 16-2 stretch in the late stages of the opening frame to help propel themselves to a 66-57 win. After the roll turned the aforementioned deficit into a 29-21 lead with 2:14 left, MU (13-11 overall, 10-7 HCAC) didn't trail over the remaining 22-plus minutes, holding as large as a 12-point advantage inside the Karl H. Weaner Center on DC's campus.
A pair of seniors aided the cause, stepping to the forefront on several statistical categories. Guard Alyssa Smith (Bluffton, Ind.), resuming a strong period of play since mid-January where's she recorded four double-doubles, led the Black and Gold in scoring (18 points), rebounding (11 boards) and steals (three). Center Alyssa Hammond (Osgood, Ind.) tallied 10 points and cleaned off the glass with five rebounds. Junior guard Katie Arterburn (Indianapolis, Ind.) added 16 points behind four three-point baskets.
Wednesday's victory, Manchester University's 10th in the last 13 against Defiance, sealed a spot for the Spartans in the 2015 league postseason tournament. They travel to Hanover College Saturday, Feb. 21, sitting in fifth just a game behind Franklin College for fourth. Tipoff at HC's Collier Arena is 3 p.m.
NOTES: MU goes into the regular season finale having won four of its last five. Defense has keyed the stretch as they've given up 60-points-or-more just once in the span … Smith's scoring (7.9 points per game) and rebounding (6.3 rebounds per contest) averages are at season highs for the senior. She's averaging a double-double over her last three appearances (13 points/11 rebounds) … Arterburn harbors a string of seven successive contests in which she's hit multiple treys. Due to that, she's tallied 10-or-more points five times in the span.
