RICHMOND, Ind. – The Earlham College women's basketball team fell short in a fourth-quarter comeback against Manchester University on Saturday afternoon. The Spartans survived with a 67-63 win in Druley Performance Gym. 

Willow Runyon led all scorers with 20 points, while also bringing down 10 rebounds. Jay Bright and Abby Parsons also scored 12 points each. 

The Quakers outscored the Spartans 24-16 in the paint, and 14-4 on second-chance opportunities. 

Earlham got off to a good start on offense and defense, and outscored Manchester 15-5 in the opening seven minutes. The Spartans ended the first quarter on an 8-2 run. 

Trailing 21-17 with 5:07 remaining in the second quarter, Manchester made its first layup of the game to start a 12-5 run to conclude the half. The Spartans led 27-26 after a 3-pointer by Runyon in the final 30 seconds of the half. 

Manchester began the second half with five straight points, and used a 7-0 run later in the frame to lead 42-31 with 4:21 remaining in the quarter. 

Trailing 56-42 with 6:58 remaining in the game, Earlham scored a 9-0 run to trail 56-51 with 3:52 remaining. Both teams were limited to free throws until Parsons nailed a 3-pointer with 1:36 remaining to make the score 59-58. The Spartans responded with a 3-pointer to increase their lead to four. Parsons hit another clutch 3-pointer with four seconds remaining, but accurate free throws by Manchester kept the Spartans on top. 

Earlham will travel to Bluffton University on Wednesday for a 7:30 pm matchup.