BLUFFTON, Ohio – The Franklin women's basketball team began a brief two-game road trip on Saturday (Feb. 1) afternoon, heading to the Sommer Center for a matchup with the Bluffton Beavers.

Franklin (11-7, 7-5 HCAC) got off to a slow start, falling behind by double figures midway through the first half. The Grizzlies would find their shooting stroke in the third quarter to cut the Beavers' (10-9, 4-8 HCAC) lead down to five, but went cold over the final 10 minutes as Bluffton held on for a 66-56 win.

Both defenses controlled the pace of play in the early going with both teams struggling to get going on the offensive end. Leading by a point with four minutes to go in the period, the Beaves closed out the opening quarter with a 10-3 run to take a 19-11 lead into the second.

The hosts stretched their lead to as many as 15 points in the second quarter as Franklin continued to have their struggles shooting the ball. Shots started to fall for the Grizzlies late in the half, but Bluffton's lead remained in double digits after 20 minutes at 39-26.

Franklin began their climb back to within striking distance immediately, clawing back to within six at 44-38 with six minutes to go in the third quarter. After Bluffton stretched the lead back out to double figures, Franklin closed out the quarter strong to pull within 53-48 after going 8-for-16 from the floor and knocking down six free throws.

A layup from Bayleigh Walker opened the final quarter and brought the deficit down to three, but a three-minute scoreless drought followed until Cassidy Yant sank a jumper with six minutes to go to make it 57-52 Beavers. But Franklin netted just two field goals the rest of the way as their comeback bid ended up falling short.

Walker led the Grizzlies with 19 points, knocking down nine field goals on the afternoon. The Grizzlies shot 37.7% (23-for-61) while holding Bluffton to 371% (23-for-62) from the field. Free throws and rebounding played a major role in victory for the hosts, with Bluffton going 16-for-19 at the line and grabbing 42 rebounds to 35 for the Grizzlies.

Franklin closes out their road trip on Wednesday (Feb. 5) night, heading to Hanover, Ind. for a meeting with the Hanover Panthers. Tip-off from Collier Arena is set for 7:30 p.m.