Seniors Recap Victory

Franklin, Ind. - The Franklin College women's basketball team will be the No. 3 seed in this weekend's Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) tournament after a 61-54 victory over Defiance College on Senior Day on Sunday from the Spurlock Center.

The Grizzlies enter postseason play with a 14-10 record and was 12-6 in league play during the regular season. The team will face No. 6 seed Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in a first round match up on Friday, February 27, at 8 p.m. from Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky.

Prior to Sunday's regular-season finale, the women's basketball program honored seniors Brittany Elliott (Waldron, Ind./Waldron), Lindsey Dall (Brownsburg, Ind./Brownsburg), and Nichole Thompson (Greenwood, Ind./Greenwood).

Thompson and Dall came out strong combining for 13 first-half points. They helped the Grizzlies close the first 20 minutes on a 14-6 run to tie the contest at 25-25.

The hosts took a 33-27 lead on a jumper by freshman Riley Achenbach (Shelbyville, Ind./Shelbyville) at the 14:21 mark.

Defiance (9-16, 8-10 HCAC) answered with three-point field goals by Ashley Williams and Megan Zachrich to tie the game at 33-33 with 12:39 left.

Franklin would regain the lead and a take a 41-37 advantage following a layup by freshman Madi Kolthoff (Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove) with eight minutes remaining. The guard was one of three players in double figures with 10 points off the bench.

Later, the Grizzlies led 52-47 after a layup by sophomore Lauren DeSutter (Pittsboro, Ind./Tri-West) at the 4:47 mark. Defiance answered by making five of six free throw attempts to tie the game with 2:47 left.

Franklin regained the lead, 54-52, after a basket by DeSutter on the team's next offensive possession. A pair of free throws by Defiance's Kelsey Tietje squared the contest at 54-54 with two minutes remaining.

DeSutter once again delivered for the Grizzlies by connecting on a jumper on the ensuing possession. The basket gave Franklin a 56-54 lead. The margin would increase even further when DeSutter converted two free throws with 30 seconds left. Achenbach made three free throws down the stretch to help secure the victory.

DeSutter led Franklin's balanced scoring attack with 13 points. Thompson chipped in 11 points and had a team-high nine rebounds. Kolthoff added 10 points off the bench. Dall scored nine points in the victory.

Tietje led all scorers for Defiance with 20 points and added 19 rebounds.