WINONA LAKE, Ind. - Grace's women's basketball team was unable to deal an upset to IU Northwest on Saturday in the finale of the Val Weinstein Classic.
Grace fell 77-68 versus the RedHawks, who are receiving votes in the NAIA Top 25 Coaches' Poll.
The Lancers held a 12-point lead at halftime, but a poor third quarter unraveled Grace's best intentions. The Lancers tried to muster a comeback in the fourth quarter, but the damage was already done.
Grace began Saturday's game with one of its best offensive quarters of the season. The Lancers ripped off 26 points in the first 10-minute session, their second-highest tally of the year. Bekah Marshall sparked Grace early with back-to-back 3-pointers.
Kaylee Patton was nearly unstoppable, scoring 13 points in the quarter.
Grace opened up its biggest lead of eight and still led 26-20 by the end of the period. Patton ended the quarter with a bucket in the final minute.
The second quarter was another fast-paced affair. Grace pushed its lead to 10 thanks to triples from Molly Long and Morganne Houk.
The Lancers ended the half on another strong note. Houk scored two quick baskets over the final 30 seconds, helping expand Grace's lead to its largest of the game at 48-36.
Houk and Patton tied for the team lead with 13 points in the half. Grace overcame 11 first-half turnovers by shooting 56 percent from the floor and 50 percent from beyond the arc.
The third quarter, however, saw Grace's strong first half go to waste.
The Lancers were held scoreless for nearly eight minutes and saw their lead quickly disappear. IU Northwest took advantage with a 24-0 run as Grace saw its 12-point lead turn into a 12-point deficit. The Lancers missed all 10 of their field goals during the stretch (including 0-5 on 3s), while the RedHawks incredibly shot 10 for 10 during the same period.
Kensie Ryman hit the second of two free throws to end the skid. Grace scored the final three points of the quarter, entering the fourth trailing 60-51. The Lancers shot eight percent from the floor in the quarter (1-13).
Grace seemed intent to regain the lead in the final frame. A triple from Brooke Blaszczyk and a steal and score from Houk slashed IUNW's lead down to five with 7:48 on the clock.
A few minutes later, Houk swished a triple which made the score 69-65 with 3:33 remaining.
But Grace's offense was unable to close the gap. Over the final three minutes, the Lancers had two turnovers and missed four of their five shots. The RedHawks iced the win with free throws in the closing seconds.
Patton shot 8 of 14 for her 21 points, adding six rebounds. Houk drilled four 3-pointers for her 18 points to go along with three steals, and Marshall scored 12 points on 4 of 5 shooting.
Maddie Ryman finished with 4 points, 5 assists and 9 rebounds, and Kensie Ryman had 4 points, 8 assists and 3 boards.
Long had five points and six boards, and Blaszczyk had four points and three rebounds.
Grace finished the game shooting 42 percent from the floor and 37 percent overall.
"This was a gut-wrenching loss. To play as well as we did in the first half and then have the third quarter go like that was a little disappointing," said Grace head coach Dan Davis. "Credit to these ladies though for taking ownership after the game. There is a ton of basketball still to be played this year, so we'll look at the film, get better and get back at it next week."
The Lancers will play home again soon with a doubleheader scheduled for Tuesday against St. Xavier. The women will tip off at 6 p.m. with the men to follow at 8 p.m.
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