NORTH MANCHESTER, Ind. - Manchester University's comeback bid fell just short on Saturday afternoon, as the visiting Hanover College Panthers clipped the Spartans by a final score of 69-65 in Stauffer-Wolfe Arena.

Saturday's women's hoops action marked the first game for the Black & Gold since November 21. Saturday's game was the first contest in over 300 days for the Panthers.

Trailing by 10 with two and a half minutes remaining in regulation, Miranda Bieghler (Plainfield, Ind./South Putnam) knocked down a triple and Tiara Jackson (East Chicago, Ind./Central) banked home a layup to slice the Panther lead in half.

With 1:14 remaining, Bieghler made a pair of free throws to pull the Spartans within three, 62-59. After a quick Panther bucket, Bridget Nash (Carmel, Ind./Bishop Chatard) answered right back with a driving layup through traffic.

With enough time on the clock to play out a stop, the Manchester defense came up just short on its next defensive possession. Hanover's Maddi Sears was able to draw a foul and converted a pair of free throws to ice the game for the visiting Panthers.

Manchester finished Saturday's game 20-57 (35.1%) from the field. The Spartans struggled from beyond the arc, shooting 4-20 (20%). The Black & Gold shot 21-35 (60%) from the free throw line.

Hanover finished 22-63 (34.9%) shooting for the game. The Panthers went 5-17 (29.4%) from downtown and shot 20-33 (60.6%) from the charity stripe.

Tiara Jackson paced the Spartans with her second double-double of the season, finishing with 11 points and a game-high 17 rebounds. Bridget Nash scored 15 points while Miranda Bieghler chipped in 13 point.

Bailey Keim (Denver, Ind./North Miami) scored 10 points.

Hanover (1-0) was led by Savannah Courtney's 15 points.

Manchester (0-6) will travel to Earlham College on Friday, January 15 for a 5:30 p.m. meeting with the Quakers.