After posting a 55-48 win against visiting Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference rival Defiance on Saturday, the Franklin College women’s basketball team remains in a good position to qualify for the league tournament.
Using a tantalizing defense, the Grizzlies buckled down on a bigger Yellow Jackets team, limiting Defiance’s 6-3 senior center Kelsey Tietje, to four first-half points and 13 for the game.
Franklin (10-10, 8-6) got off to a fast start, outscoring its opponent 16-9 in the opening period, and the Grizzlies stretched their lead to 21-9 on a three-point play by senior guard Mandy Fisher with a little over four minutes left in the half.
But Defiance finally got its offense untracked and took a 27-25 lead before the Grizzlies tied it going into the intermission.
Senior guard Lauren DeSutter provided a steady hand throughout the game and finished with 11 points.
"This was a huge win," she said, "and it gave us a little fire to finish off these last four games with teams that are beatable.
"We’ve worked really hard on our defense. We made an effort to get stops on defense to create our offense, and it worked."
The Grizzlies were bolstered by the energetic second-half play of freshman guard Mallory Cast, who came off the bench to score seven points and put Franklin up by eight at 43-35.
Defiance (12-9, 9-5) made one more run in the fourth quarter to get within one at 47-46, but Franklin’s Emily Alfrey scored on a fast break layup off of an assist by DeSutter to close the door.
Seniors Kelsey Smith and Sarah Taylor converted two free throws each for insurance.
Alfrey and Smith each finished with 12 points.
Franklin coach Dana Haggenjos applauded her team’s defense.
"I thought our intensity from start to finish was pretty exceptional," she said. "We know we’re not really where we want to be in the conference from a seeding standpoint, so our goal is to take care of business these last two weeks."
The Grizzlies are currently in sixth place in the league standings, one game back of Hanover. The top six teams qualify for the tournament.
Meanwhile, in the second game of the Saturday doubleheader, the Franklin men’s team fought back from a 22-point deficit but fell to Defiance, 82-79.
The Yellow Jackets (5-16, 4-10) powered their way to a 44-27 halftime advantage largely on the outside shooting of Michael Parker and the inside play of Keandre Gilmer. That duo combined for 29 first-half points.
The Grizzlies (6-15, 3-11) mounted a comeback, led by senior guard Aaron Mann, that got them within eight points with six minutes left.
Franklin added 3-pointers by Kale Morris and Blake Oakley to close the gap to 76-73, but Defiance was able to get to the free throw line where Parker — who scored a game-high 41 points — converted six of seven to ensure the win.
"We know how to fight," Mann said, "but we just haven’t been able to put two halves together, and that’s when we get hurt."
