NORTH MANCEHSTER, Ind. – The Manchester University women's basketball team dropped a hard-fought Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference matchup against visiting Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology 62-57 on Wednesday night inside of Stauffer-Wolfe Arena.

Little separated the Spartans and Fightin' Engineers on the scoreboard as both sides led for nearly the same amount of game time – RHIT possessed the lead for 16 minutes and eight seconds, while the Spartans led for 15 minutes and 31 seconds.

Wednesday's contest came down to a thrilling 4^th quarter. A jumper by Miranda Bieghler (Plainfield, Ind./South Putnam) and a three-pointer from Eva Bazzoni (Wabash, Ind./Manchester) gave the Black & Gold a 47-43 lead just over a minute into the final frame.

Rose-Hulman then used a 9-2 run to grab a slim 52-49 advantage at the media timeout of the period. RHIT would lead by as much as six points down the stretch, however a pair of free throws from Hannah Lindsey (Speedway, Ind./Speedway) and a jumper by Macy Miller (Huntertown, Ind./Carroll) kept the Spartans within a possession.

Leading 59-57 with less than a minute to play, the Rose-Hulman defense was able to come up with a key stop by forcing a Spartan turnover. Following a foul by Manchester, Rowan Hein converted one-of-two free throw attempts to put the Fightin' Engineers ahead 60-57 with 25 seconds remaining in regulation. The Spartans were unable to convert on their next offensive possession and RHIT cleared the rebound.

Two free throws by Jamie Baum with five seconds left in the game sealed the five-point victory for the visitors.

Rose-Hulman shot 46 percent (23-50) in Wednesday's game. RHIT finished 4-12 from three-point territory.

The Spartans shot 33.9 percent (19-56) from the floor and finished 7-21 from distance.

Eva Bazzoni and Macy Miller both tallied 15 points to lead the Manchester offense.  Bazzoni finished 4-9 from downtown, while Miller finished 7-8 at the free throw line. Miller also added eight rebounds, four assists, and four steals. Miranda Bieghler added 14 points, seven assists, five steals, and five rebounds against Rose-Hulman. The Spartans were able to convert 20 Engineer turnovers into 21 points.

Manchester (7-12, 4-8 HCAC) is scheduled to host Hanover College at home on Saturday February 12 beginning at 4 p.m. Saturday will be Senior Day for the Spartans.

Rose-Hulman improved to 9-7, 7-4 HCAC with the win.