Road wins don't always come easily in conference play, but Franklin women's basketball did the hard work on Saturday afternoon.

Down by double digits in the second half, the Grizzlies buckled down defensively in the fourth quarter to rally for a 61-54 victory at Bluffton.

"We showed our heart and I'm so proud to coach this team," said Franklin coach Ashley Blanch, whose team has won nine of its last 10 games.

After leading for most of a close first half, the Grizzlies (11-3, 6-1 HCAC) fell behind by as many as 10 in the third quarter and trailed 47-38 in the final minute of that period. But an Avery Kelley layup and a three-point play from Briley Munchel cut it to four going into the fourth, and consecutive baskets from Kate Breeden and Cameryn Ridderikhoff got the visitors back on top for good during a 12-0 surge that made it 57-50 with 3:52 remaining. Franklin held the Beavers scoreless for a span of six minutes and 23 seconds in the final quarter.

Bluffton got as close as three with just over a minute to go, but Munchel fed Payton Seay for a big layup and then tacked on some free throws to seal it.

Jordan Coon finished with 17 points and three steals for the Griz, while Seay had 16 points and a team-high nine rebounds. Breeden was just short of a double-double with nine points and eight boards, while Kelley had six points and a career-high six assists in 27 minutes off the bench. 

"We had some players step up when we had adversity," Blanch said.

The Grizzlies will be back home on Wednesday night (Jan. 14, 7 p.m.) to host Transylvania in a battle for sole possession of the HCAC lead.