FRANKLIN, Ind. – The Franklin College women's basketball team played in front of their home crowd for the final time in 2021 on Saturday (Dec. 4) afternoon, taking on the Defiance Yellow Jackets in search of their first conference win.

The Grizzlies (3-3, 1-1 HCAC) had four players score in double figures and pulled away from the Yellow Jackets (4-3, 0-2 HCAC) late to earn a 74-62 win.

How it Happened
Defiance came out with the hot hand, taking an early 11-4 lead three minutes into the game. Franklin would shake off a slow start on the offensive end to take the lead before the end of the quarter, and the teams sat tied at 20 after 10 minutes of play. Sarah O'Day opened the second quarter with a basket that put the Grizzlies in front for good, as Franklin led by as many as nine before taking a 42-35 lead into the locker room.

A bit of a slow stretch on offense by Franklin allowed Defiance to get back within a pair at 48-46 with five minutes to go in the third quarter. However, Franklin would put the game out of reach before the end of the period; closing out the third with a 10-4 run that made it 58-50 with 10 minutes to go. Defiance could only close the gap to six over the final 10 minutes of play.

Inside the Box Score
-Franklin shot a season-best 46.3% (25-for-54) from the floor, knocking down two triples and 22 free throws.
-Destinee Cross had a team-high 15 points on 7-for-14 shooting.
-Sophomore CiCi Bailey chipped in with 13 points and grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds. The Milan, Ind.-native has a double-double in three of Franklin's four home games.
-Maddie Barnes and Kayla Bruner both had 11 points coming off the bench, with the total a new career-high for Barnes. Barnes, Bailey and Bruner combined to score all 35 of the Grizzlies' bench points.
-Rebounds were 42-31 in Franklin's favor and the Grizzlies finished with a 42-20 advantage on points in the paint.

Up Next
Franklin will have a week to get ready for their next contest, which takes place next Saturday (Dec. 11) afternoon at Manchester. Tip-off is set for 1:00 p.m.