Box Score NO. MANCHESTER, Ind. â€" Winning can be difficult, especially when it appears Mother Nature may not like basketball.

None of that mattered on Saturday as the Earlham College women's basketball team won 81-70 over Manchester University in a Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference affair.

"To come in a get a win against a quality Manchester ball club is a great step forward for our program," Earlham Head Coach Melissa Johnson said. "Where I think our team has improved the most is in their mental focus during times of adversity."

"With the winter weather, we had major travel issues and a delayed game, but our players stepped off the bus ready to play," Johnson continued. "A few times during the game, we allowed Manchester to make a run, but we dug our heels in and figured out how to turn the tide."

Kasin Spay led the Quakers 15 points, while Lexi McFarland and Raven Bryant-Williams tossed in 12 points each. Bryant-Williams also had eight rebounds and McFarland added four assists.

Hannah Franklin finished with eight points and Bria Sneed had seven points.

With her point total, Sneed moved into ninth on Earlham's all-time scoring list with 1,060 points. She passed Shelly Holt (1997-2001) who had 1,057 points. Next up for Sneed in eighth place is Nikki Darrett (2008-12) with 1,061 points.

Shania Feathers contributed seven points and eight rebounds.

Despite being ready to play according to Johnson, the Quakers fell behind 6-0 with 16:45 left in the first half.

But the Quakers were just getting warmed up as they eventually tied the game at 14-14 on a 3-pointer by McFarland at 13:55.

The Spartans (8-9, 5-5) answered to go in front 21-14 with 11:54 to play in the opening stanza.

Earlham was ready and responded with 14 straight points capped by a basket from Franklin at the 7:21 mark to lead 28-21.

The Quakers were able to maintain their distance the rest of the period to lead 40-34 by intermission.

In the second half, Manchester cut the deficit to 42-39 early in the frame before Earlham bounced back to lead 52-39 after Spay hit a pair of free throws with 14:52 remaining.

From that moment, Earlham's advantage was down to six points twice with the last time coming at 63-57 at 4:54 as the Quakers held off the Spartans for the victory.

"I am so proud of this team," Johnson said. "We are looking forward to our next game against Transy."

The Quakers (8-9, 4-6) entertain HCAC leader Transylvania University on Wednesday. The contest on Schuckman Court in the Athletics and Wellness Center is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.    

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