WINONA LAKE, Ind. – A suffocating defensive effort by Grace's women's basketball team led to a blowout win on Saturday.
The Lady Lancers rolled past Madonna 70-37 at the Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center in Grace's home opener.
Grace improved to 2-0 on the young season, winning both games by a combined 43 points.
The Crusaders had no response to Grace's defensive energy. Madonna committed 31 turnovers, resulting in 34 points for Grace.
In the opening minutes both teams seemed content to feel each other out before they began to get into an offensive rhythm.
The Lady Lancers grabbed their first lead of the game after Maddie Ryman hit a 3-point shot that vaulted the Lancers into a 7-4 lead.
The deep shot seemed to ignite Ryman as she was responsible for the next 10 Lancer points. The junior guard also ripped four steals in the opening quarter.
Grace ended the quarter on a 5-0 run to go up 19-9.
The second quarter was a defensive battle between the two teams as neither team could get a shot to fall early.
Grace missed 11 of its first 13 shots in the second stanza, but their defensive intensity prevented the Crusaders from mounting a comeback.
Grace and Madonna combined for 13 points and 14 turnovers in the second quarter as Grace took a 25-16 lead into the half.
It was the third quarter that saw the Lady Lancers take a stranglehold on the game. Grace used a 13-0 run in the opening minutes to grab a 19-point cushion. Ryman and Kiersten Poor each had five points during the charge.
Grace took a comfortable 20-point lead into the fourth quarter, and the Lady Lancers continued to click.
Grace's best offensive quarter was its last, tallying 25 points as Madonna grew fatigued. The Lady Lancers used their bench at the end, cruising to the final 33-point win.
Grace had 17 assists on 25 made field goals in the win. Madonna was shut out on 3-pointers, making none of its 11 attempts.
Ryman enjoyed a strong game with 22 points, 5 rebounds, 5 steals and 4 assists, and Poor finished with 13 points and two steals.
Karlee Feldman just missed her second straight double-double, finishing with 9 points, 8 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 blocked shots. Kenzie McMahon added 6 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals.
Peyton Murphy had 6 points, 4 steals and 2 assists, and fellow freshman Karissa Lukasiewicz tallied four points and three steals.
Sally Mortensen, Kensie Ryman and Taylor Cooney each scored their first collegiate points during Saturday's win.
"This was an exciting first home game for us. It felt awesome to play in front of a great crowd in that atmosphere. We put a big emphasis early this year on the defensive end, and we certainly defended today," said Grace head coach Dan Davis. "Our offense will continue to develop, and we have not peaked at that end. We like the balance in scoring, which shows our unselfishness. We will continue to get better and look forward to continuing to compete next week."
The Lady Lancers begin a three-game road trip next week. Grace plays at IU Kokomo on Wednesday before traveling to Michigan for a weekend tournament at Lawrence Tech.
