INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Grace's women's basketball team fell just two-points shy of knocking off No. 6 Marian, falling 67-65 on Wednesday night.

The Lady Lancers (12-4, 5-1 Crossroads League) trailed by as many as 21 points in the first half before slowly clawing their way back even late in the fourth quarter.

Grace had a chance to force overtime with a last second shot, but the attempt would not fall as the upset bid fell short.

Peyton Murphy led all Grace players with a career high 16 points against the sixth ranked Knights (15-1, 6-0 CL).

The Lady Lancers fell behind early in the first quarter as their offense started ice cold from the field. Grace shot just 2-13 from the field, while the Knights 79 percent shooting propelled Marian to a 25-7 lead by the quarter break.

An early 3-point bucket for Marian pushed the Grace deficit to 21 points as it seemed the Knights might run away with the contest.

However, a quartet of free throws from Karlee Feldman stalled Marian's run and seemed to calm the Grace squad as the Lady Lancers began to match the Knight's blow-for-blow.

Grace trimmed Marian's advantage to as little as 11 after Murphy converted a bucket in the paint, but Marian pushed the advantage back to 15 by halftime.

After a poor shooting performance in the first quarter the Lancers converted on 53 percent of their tries in the second, on their way to outsourcing the Knights by three points in the stanza. On her way to a career night, Murphy had nine first half points to pace Grace's offense.

In the third quarter Marian looked to dash any hopes that Grace had of a comeback, extending their lead to 18 points by the midpoint of the quarter.

The Lady Lancers once again mustered a response, going on a 7-0 run which was fueled by Kaylee Patton who scored nine points in the quarter.

The deficit was cut to single digits for the first time since the midpoint of the first quarter as Kenzie McMahon hit a late shot to send the game into the final frame with Grace trailing 59-51.

Patton cut the deficit to six points on the Lady Lancers first possession of the fourth quarter, but Grace couldn't seem to get any closer as Marian matched every Grace bucket.

Down seven-points with 3:29 remaining Patton and Murphy teamed up for a fastbreak score to cut the lead to five before Maddie Ryman connected on a 3-point shot to pull within 65-63.

Karlee Feldman tied the game up at 65 apiece with a tough basket as the game entered the final minute.

The Lady Lancers missed a go-head bucket with 44 seconds and Marian converted two shots from the charity stripe to push ahead by two points.

Grace had one last chance to tie or take the lead, but the ensuing shot rolled off the rim as Grace fell 67-65.

"So proud of our girls for continuing to fight and giving us a chance to win," said Grace head coach Dan Davis. "If this team continues to work, stay together and believe, they are capable of doing something special as a group. I am proud to be their coach."

After falling behind by 18 points in the first quarter, Grace outscored Marian in the final three quarters of play.

Grace finished shooting 37 percent from the floor and 82 percent from the charity stripe. Feldman added another double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

The Lady Lancers will be back in action on Saturday as they host No. 7 Indiana Wesley at 1 P.M.