Three players scored in double digits, led by senior forward Courtney Prater’s (Lapel, Ind.) 23 points, as the Hanover College women’s basketball team held off Centre College (Ky.), 74-72. The game was played Tuesday, Nov. 27, in Danville, Ky.
Facing a game tied 72-72 with 17 second to play, sophomore guard Alicia Hopkins (Columbus, Ind.) hit a streaking Prater who then sank the game winning lay-up with 5.7 seconds to play. Hopkins dished season-high six assists for the game, along with netting 12 points.
Classmate Shauna Watson (Fort Wayne, Ind.) was the third Panther to reach double digits, scoring a season-high 11 points.
The game showcased a series of early runs by both teams, as Prater scored eight points in the first four minutes pushing Hanover to an 11-3 lead.
Centre answered with a 10-2 run of their own, knotting the score at 13-13 at the 13:37 mark.
The teams traded baskets until an Ashley Malloy (Salem, Ind.) lay-up and three straight buckets by Prater secured a ten point lead at 27-17 with 9:19 remaining in the first period.
Malloy scored a season-high seven points off the bench, all in first half to push the Panthers to 43-27 advantage at intermission.
Hanover led by as much as 22 points early in the second half, before the Colonels charged back with a 24-4 run, pulling within two with less than four minutes to play. Eight different Centre players scored in this run, as the Colonels shot 48.1% in the second half.
With the Panther lead a tenuous three-point margin at 70-67, Paige Baechle sank throws free throw with 32 second remaining.
After a Centre foul to stop the clock, Hopkins netted two free throw attempts to push the Hanover lead to 72-69.
Centre’s Bridget Winstead responded with a three-pointer from the corner to tie the game at 72, before the Hopkins assist to Prater secured the lead for good.
Baechle was unable to convert a last-second three-point effort, as the Panthers improved to 3-0 for the season.
Baechle led Centre (1-5) with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Winstead also scored 13 points.
Hanover shot 51% from the field on 26-of-52 shooting, while converting 44.4% (4-9) of three-point efforts.
The team hit 18-of-23 free throws to hit 78.3% as a team, while enjoying a 37-32 rebound advantage.
Hanover at Centre (Ky.) statistics
Published Tuesday, November 27, 2012