FRANKLIN, Ind. – Facing a 13-point second half deficit, the Franklin women's basketball team was in danger of seeing their perfect season come to an end on Thursday (Jan. 28) night against Hanover College.

But a dominant fourth quarter showing pulled the Grizzlies (4-0) back from the brink of defeat, as they out-scored Hanover (3-1) 26-9 in the final period to earn a 63-54 win. The Grizzlies got a career-high 15 points from Lindsay Freije and the first career double-double for Cassidy Yant with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Early on, the Grizzlies controlled play with their defense and led 12-5 with a little more than two minutes to go in the opening quarter. But the Panthers turned on the full-court press to fluster the Grizzlies, closing out the quarter on a 9-0 run to take a 14-12 lead into the second period.

Hanover's full-court defense continued to cause problems for the hosts in the second quarter, with the Panthers opening the quarter with an 11-3 run. Hanover's lead grew to as many as 11 points before the end of the quarter, and the Panthers took a 29-20 lead into the break. Through 20 minutes, Hanover turned 13 Franklin giveaways into 15 points at their end of the floor.

With 2:48 to go in the third quarter, Hanover held their largest lead of the night at 41-28, but the hosts would start to close the gap before the end of the period. Franklin chopped the lead down to six before the horn sounded to end the quarter and trailed by eight with 10 minutes to go.

Head coach Dana Haggenjos opened the fourth quarter with a fresh set of subs, and the quintet of Yant, Freije, Destinee Cross, Jessica Nix and Libby Baker would end up playing the entire final quarter. Limited to just under six minutes through three quarter due to foul trouble, Nix proved to be the key cog in Franklin's attack as she had four points, six rebounds and six assists in the final quarter alone.

Facing a 51-43 deficit early in the period, the Grizzlies locked in at both ends of the floor to start the game's deciding run. Franklin would force the Panthers to miss their next five shots and a three from Freije with 4:24 to play gave Franklin their first least of the half, part of a 14-0 run that gave the Grizzlies a 57-51 lead with 2:10 to play. Hanover would record just one three-point field goal over the final 6:25 of action and a Freije three with less than 20 seconds to play proved to be the final dagger.

The Grizzlies shot 42.4% (25-for-59) from the floor, but their defense proved critical all night long after holding Hanover to 29% (20-for-69) for the night. Rebounds were 43-36 in Franklin's favor and the hosts recorded 36 points in the paint to 24 for the Panthers.

The two teams will close out their weekend series on Saturday (Jan. 30), when they meet in Hanover. Tip-off is set for 1:00 p.m.