TERRE HAUTE, IND. -- Manchester College relied on a strong defensive effort to top Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology 57-45 in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference women's basketball action on Saturday afternoon.

Jessica Henn scored 15 points and Kelley Meiklejohn added 13 to lead the Manchester effort. 

Freshman Nicole Klass (Evansville/ North) paced the Rose-Hulman offense with career-highs of 10 points and six rebounds.

Freshman Donna Marsh (Mobile, Ala./Baker) added eight points and three rebounds, while senior Jill Floyd (Bloomington, Ill./Olympia) contributed eight points and two assists for the Engineers.

Other key contributors for the balanced Rose-Hulman performance included senior Candace Procter (Southfield, Mich.) with seven points and three assists; junior Liz Ridgway (Grosse Pointe, Mich./Northwestern U.) with seven points and five rebounds; and senior Brittany Moline (Indianapolis/Perry Meridian) with four points, six rebounds and five assists.

Manchester jumped out to a 21-12 halftime advantage by holding the Engineers to 23.8% shooting from the field.  The Spartan lead reached as high as 18 points at 51-33 in the second half, before Rose-Hulman put on a late spurt.

The Engineers scored 12 points over a three-minute span to close within 52-45 with 39 seconds left, courtesy of eight points from Floyd, a jumper by Klass and a fastbreak layup by Moline.  Manchester buried five free throws in the waning seconds to secure the win.

Manchester improved to 10-4 overall and 5-0 in HCAC play, while Rose-Hulman dropped to 5-8 overall and 3-3 in conference games.  The Engineers host St. Mary-of-the-Woods College in the annual Clabber Girl Trophy Game on Monday at 7:30 p.m.