BLUFFTON, Ohio — The Earlham College women's basketball team opened its Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference schedule on Wednesday with an 81-66 loss at Bluffton University.

Hannah Franklin led the Quakers with a career-high 17 points and handed out six assists against the Beavers (5-1, 1-0).

Kasin Spay finished with 14 points and seven rebounds.

Lexi McFarland and Emma Stilgenbaurer added eight points each. JaLissa Watt also had seven rebounds.

Bluffton began the game with an 11-4 advantage by the 16:37 mark of the first half before the Quakers were able to tie the score at 13-13 with 15:01 left.

Both teams had small leads until the game was tied at 25-25 at 9:39. The Beavers then scored the next nine points to go on top 34-25 with 4:29 remaining.

McFarland drilled a 3-pointer in the final moments of the opening stanza to cut the deficit to 42-39 by halftime.

In the second period, Bluffton scored six points to begin the frame to lead 48-39 with 16:37 to go.

A pair of free throws by Mariah Flynn cut the Bluffton lead to 59-54 at 8:31, but that would be as close as the Quakers could get the rest of the way.  

Earlham (2-3, 0-1) returns home for a HCAC contest on Saturday against Manchester University. The game on Schuckman Court in the Athletics and Wellness Center starts at 2 p.m.