Hanover, Ind. - The Franklin College women's basketball team outscored host Hanover College by 13 points in the second half to pick up a 69-63 victory in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) opener on Wednesday.

Franklin (3-1, 1-0 HCAC) trailed 36-29 at halftime, but used a 14-1 run early in the second half to take a six-point lead. A jumper by sophomore Lexi Ingram (Bloomington, Ind./Bloomington South) gave the visitors a 45-39 lead with 12:46 left in the game.

Hanover (1-2) got within two points, 53-51, with 6:22 remaining after a layup from Maci Maupin.

However, the Grizzlies went on another scoring run, outscoring Hanover by an 11-2 margin over the next five minutes to secure the team's first road victory of the season. A three-point play by sophomore Mandy Fisher (Mooresville, Ind./Mooresville) pushed the lead to nine points, 62-53, at the 2:43 mark. Then, a basket by sophomore Lauren DeSutter (Pittsboro, Ind./Tri-West) gave Franklin a 64-53 advantage with 1:31 left.

A late rally by Hanover cut the Grizzlies' lead to 67-63 following a layup by Allison Nash with 10 seconds left. However, Franklin's DeSutter connected on two free throws to close out the scoring.

In the first half, the Panthers used a 14-2 run midway through the period to hold a 16-12 lead. The hosts then outscored Franklin 11-3 over the final 4:16 to take a seven-point advantage into intermission.

DeSutter led Franklin with 16 points. Senior Nichole Thompson (Greenwood, Ind./Greenwood) and freshman Kelsey Smith (Scottsburg, Ind./Scottsburg) each chipped in 13 points. Fisher rounded out the balanced scoring effort with nine points.

Hanover's Jessie Davidson scored a game-high 18 points.

Franklin shot 47.5 percent from the floor and held the Panthers to just 32.7 percent shooting in the contest.

The Grizzlies return to action on Saturday, December 6, at 2 p.m. when they host Bluffton University in the Spurlock Center. Live audio, statistics, and video of the game will be available. In-game updates will also be available on Twitter (@FCAthletics) and on Facebook (www.facebook.com/FranklinCollegeAthletics).