WINONA LAKE, Ind. - Grace college's women's basketball team opened the 2024-25 season in dramatic fashion with an 83-82 overtime win over Concordia on Saturday afternoon.

The Lancers trailed by 15-points after the first quarter, but slowly chipped away at the lead over the next three frames to force overtime and ultimately claim the victory.

"So proud of the fight this team showed," said Grace head coach Dan Davis. "We got behind early, but I thought our conditioning really paid off as we got better throughout the game. Excited to see this team get back on the floor."

Peyton Murphy led the way for the Lancers with an impressive double double. The senior forward had a career high 22 points to go along with 12 rebounds, 3 steals and a block while playing all 45 minutes.

Grace got off to a slow start in the season opener, shooting just 29 percent from the floor in the opening quarter. After holding a narrow 5-2 lead, the Lancers went six minutes without a point, allowing Concordia to go on a 17-0 run.

By the quarter break the Lancers found themselves in a 24-9 hole.

Kensie Ryman hit a trifecta to start the second frame but the Cardinals were able to maintain a double digit lead for most of the quarter.

Sophia Morrison had a triple and Morganne Houk had a layup which cut the lead down to eight points with just 10 seconds left, but a pair of Concordia free throws pushed the lead back to 10 points at the halftime break.

Grace shot 36 percent in the first half while Concordia connected on 46 percent of the shots. Both teams hit three shots from behind the arc.

Houk led Grace with eight points in the first half and Murphy had six rebounds.

The start of the second half saw the Cardinals push their lead back to 14 points but Grace remained undaunted.

Kate Thomas had a two-point shot and Murphy added a pair of free throws as the Lancers again sliced the lead down to single digits.

Concordia momentarily pushed the to 11, but Ryman converted five unanswered points for the Lancers and Morrison had her second trifecta of the afternoon to pull Grace within a possession of the Cardinals.

Bekah Marshall ended the third frame with the Lancers' third made shot from behind the arc to send the game into the fourth quarter with Grace behind by just two points.

The Lancers captured their first lead of the game since early in the first quarter when Morrison hit a 3-point shot in transition. Grace's lead was short lived though as the Cardinals responded with eight points of their own to regain a seven-point edge by the midpoint of the quarter.

Houk then played a role in three unanswered baskets for Grace as the teams battled neck and neck down the stretch.

The Lancers trailed by four with under a minute left but a timely steal and score from Marshall and steady shooting from the charity stripe from Murphy saw Grace tie the game with 14 seconds left in regulation.

The Lancers withstood a final shot attempt from the Cardinals as the game entered extra time tied at 70.

As they had throughout much of the contest Concordia held the lead during most of the overtime period, leading by as many as five, but the Lancers continued to show resilience.

Ryman and Houk each had six points in the overtime period, combining to score Grace's first 12 points of the extra frame.

The game was tied at 82 with 17 seconds left when Murphy worked her way to the free throw line. Murphy sank the go ahead free throw and the Lancers again played solid defense to whistle, holding on for the 83-82 win.

Grace finished the game shooting 46 percent from the floor and 41 percent from beyond the arc. The Lancers held a 42-32 advantage on points in the paint and had nine turnovers to Concordia's 14.

The Lancers will travel to Division II Lee University on Saturday for an exhibition contest against the flames.