It wasn’t the type of play the Franklin College’s women basketball team envisioned following a 10-day holiday hiatus.
In a turnover-plagued game from start to finish, visiting Trine University (9-1) took advantage of Grizzlies miscues and never surrendered a lead that grew to 22 points in the second half while recording a 66-47 victory.
Franklin’s defense was aggressive in Wednesday’s game, but Trine was able to get to the free-throw line which, in the end, proved to be a big difference.
The Thunder converted 18 of 21 attempts in the first half. By comparison, Franklin was only able get to the line eight times, hitting five.
Trine converted 29 of 39 at the charity stripe; Franklin hit 14 of 21.
Second-year Franklin College coach Dana Haggenjos continued to search for answers by liberally going to the bench, but never really settled on a solid lineup.
By game’s end, 13 Grizzly players had played.
Leading the way for Trine with a game-high 14 points was sophomore guard Montana Martin. Freshman forward Tashayla Sutorius added 13.
For Franklin (4-5), two players finished in double figures. Seniors Kayle Comer and Mandy Fisher had 11 and 10 points, respectively.
The Grizzlies return to the hardwood against visiting Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference rival Manchester on Jan. 4.
