WINONA LAKE, Ind. - Grace's women's basketball was tripped up by Indiana Wesleyan, falling 85-77 to the seventh ranked Wildcats on Saturday afternoon.

Maddie Ryman scored 23 points in the contest eclipsing 1,500 career points. Ryman is the seventh player in program history to clear the 1,500 point mark.

The opening half was a fast-paced affair. Both teams employed a rapid offense, combining for 76 points before halftime.

Grace struggled to connect with its shot in the first quarter, shooting 39 percent from the floor. IWU, on the other hand, made eight field goals at a 44 percent clip.

But Ryman powered Grace's offense with seven points in the quarter as IWU held a slight 19-17 lead at the quarter break.

The Wildcats tried to pull away in the second quarter, building up a nine-point lead. IWU shot even better in the second quarter, hitting 57 percent to build a lead.

But a late and-1 from Kiersten Findley in the final seconds brought Grace back to within six at halftime, 41-35.

Ryman's 11 points led Grace's offense, and Kenzie McMahon and Peyton Murphy added six apiece.

Both teams started cold from the field in the third quarter as Grace was still within nine-points at the midpoint of the quarter.

IWU would open up their lead to 19-points after going on an 8-0 run over a two-minute stretch.

Kate Rulli ended the Lady Lancers drought with a fastbreak score and after Ryman converted at the charity stripe to pull Grace within 58-44.

After leading by 13-points entering the fourth quarter, the Wildcats extended their lead back to 18.

With four minutes left, Jenna Blakley hit a 3-point shot that sparked life into the Lady Lancers.

Kaylee Patton followed up Blakley's trifecta with one of her own and Murphy hit a pair of free throws as Grace pulled back within single digits with 4:36 still remaining.

Patton and Murphy again teamed up to score on back-to-back possessions as the Lady Lancers cut the deficit to just five points.

Grace could not pull any closer as the Wildcats sealed the game at the charity stripe with the Lady Lancers' comeback falling short at 85-77.

"Tough loss tonight but have to give Wesleyan a lot of credit," said Grace head coach Dan Davis. "Disappointed because we are capable of winning these games but have to realize that we have gone toe-to-toe with two top 10 teams in the country. The film from these last two games are going to make us a lot better."

In her milestone performance, Ryman scored 23 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Murphy scored 14 points to go along with five rebounds.

Grace was outscored in the paint 44-28 and both teams grabbed 38 rebounds.

The Lady Lancers are back home on Wednesday, hosting Bethel for a 7 p.m. contest.