WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Grace's women's basketball team pulled off their second win in as many days with a 62-58 victory at Keiser on New Year's Eve.
The Lady Lancers (10-5) used a 24-point first quarter to outpace the Seahawks on their way to victory.
Nearly duplicating her start from the day before, Maddie Ryman scored seven of the Lady Lancers' first nine points to build an early lead.
Kenzie McMahon scored an offense putback which forced a timeout from the reeling Seahawks (12-6), who found themselves down 11-4 and unable to find an answer for Grace's offense.
Keiser found success on the first offense set after a timeout, but Kiersten Poor then began to take over for Grace. The sophomore scored on back-to-back possessions as the lead was extended to 16-6.
Poor and Maddie Ryman ended the first quarter with a 3-point bucket each, and Grace entered the quarter break with a 24-13 lead. Grace hit on four of their six shots from beyond the arc in the first quarter.
Grace started the second period with possession, and Poor continued the offensive onslaught with an and-1 just seconds into the quarter.
The Lady Lancers' lead ballooned to 17, the largest of the game, on the next possession when Kensie Ryman assisted on fellow Warsaw grad Kaylee Patton's 3-point shot.
Keiser was able to capitalize on four Lady Lancer turnovers to go on a 7-0 run and cut the lead to 10.
Poor ended a 6:37 scoreless drought for Grace after completing a 3-point play from the charity stripe, but Keiser answered with their first successful 3-point shot of the game. At the half Grace held a 34-26 lead.
Maddie Ryman and Poor each had double-digit points in the first half. Grace shot 43 percent from the field while holding Keiser to 34 percent.
The Lady Lancers' defense helped propel their offense with seven fastbreak points and 11 points off turnovers.
As the second half began, Keiser continued to chip away at the Grace lead. The Seahawks managed to pull within five of the Lady Lancers.
Patton and Poor combined to score Grace's next 12 points as the lead was pushed back to 48-35. The game entered the final 10 minutes with the Lady Lancers in front 53-39.
Grace came up empty in its first five possessions of the fourth as Keiser again tried to mount a comeback.
Three minutes into the quarter, Karlee Feldman got the Lady Lancers on the board as Grace continued to lead.
Feldman's marker was the only Lady Lancer score through the first 6:09 of the quarter. Grace relied on its defense to cling to a dwindling lead.
After hitting a free throw, Keiser had cut the lead to 59-55 with 39 seconds remaining. The Lady Lancers converted their free throws down the stretch to hold on for a 62-58 win.
"This was a great way to close out the first half of the season for us," said Grace head coach Dan Davis. "It wasn't always pretty, but our girls showed a lot of maturity when things weren't going our way; we won with our defense and toughness. Can't wait to get back home and get ready for conference play."
Maddie Ryman led the way with 22 points and nabbed three steals. Poor followed closely behind with 21 points. Patton added 8 points, 6 assists and 5 blocks.
Grace shot 42 percent from the field compared to 36 percent from Keiser. The teams were deadlocked in rebounds with both squads grabbing 36.
Grace's next game will see them host No. 11 Indiana Wesleyan on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
