NORTH MANCHESTER, Ind. – The Manchester University women's basketball team dropped an 84-68 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference matchup to visiting Hanover College inside of Stauffer-Wolfe Arena on Saturday February 12.

Prior to the start of Saturday's game, Manchester honored its senior class of Bridget Nash, Miranda Bieghler, Abby Walker, Macy Miller, Hillery Shepherd, and student-manager Sarah Tribby.

After keeping pace with Hanover through the first 10 minutes of play, the visiting Panthers grabbed a comfortable lead after outscoring the Black & Gold 21-14 and 29-18 in the 2^nd and 3^rd quarters, respectively.

Manchester shot 8-18 from the floor and 3-6 from beyond the three-point arc in the opening period to keep pace with the Panthers.

The Panthers' speed and length propelled them to a victory on Saturday afternoon. Hanover outrebounded the Black & Gold 50-33. 24 of their rebounds were offensive and HC scored 21 second-chance points. Hanover also able to convert 15 Spartan turnovers into 23 points. 40 of Hanover's 84 points were scored in the paint.

Grace Bezold led Hanover with 33 points on the strength of 15-20 shooting. Katherine Benter added 18 points while Taylor Heath scored 15 points.

Manchester was led by Macy Miller's (Huntertown, Ind./Carroll) season-high 22 points and eight rebounds. Bridget Nash (Carmel, Ind./Bishop Chatard) added 11 points, while Hillery Shepherd (Middletown, Ind./Shenandoah) scored 10 points. Abby Walker (Oswego, Ill./Cloverdale) scored a season-high 11 points on Saturday. Miranda Bieghler (Plainfield, Ind./South Putnam) led the Black & Gold with six assists.

The Spartans (7-13, 4-9 HCAC) will host Bluffton University on Tuesday February 15 at 7:30 p.m. in the team's regular season home finale.

Hanover (12-8. 9-6 HCAC) won for the fourth straight outing. The Panthers will travel to nationally-ranked Transylvania University on Tuesday February 15 for a 7 p.m. showdown with the Pioneers.