Circleville, Ohio - Grace College's women's basketball improved to 5-0 on the season with a 77-65 win over Ohio Christian on Saturday afternoon.

With the win the Lancers are now off to their best start under head coach Dan Davis, and have matched the program's second best start in program history.

"Happy to come out of here with a win," Davis commented. "I don't think this was one of our best games, but over the course of the season you're going to have to win some game ugly. Says a lot about these ladies that they were able to overcome a late seven-point deficit and get out of here with a 12-point win."

The Lancers struggled to get going in the first quarter, scoring just six points and committing five turnovers through the first seven minutes of action.

The Trailblazers were unable to pull away despite Grace's cold offensive start, holding just a six-point lead late in the first frame.

Grace ended the quarter on a mini run when Sophia Morrison connected on a trifecta and Molly Long had a last second layup to cut the deficit to one point at the quarter break.

Morrison started the second quarter with a steal that started a fast break for the Lancers which was finished through contact by Kensie Ryman to give Grace its first lead of the ball game at 17-16.

A 3-point shot from the Trailblazers pushed them back into the lead, but Grace routinely made their way to the charity stripe, they made 12 shots in the quarter, to recapture the lead and build it to 29-23.

Grace's lead reached double digits after Ryman converted a shot from beyond the arc and Bekah Marshal finished in the paint to give the Lancers a 34-23 lead with 1:50 left in the half.

Ohio Christian punched back however, entering the intermission on a 9-2 run to cut the lead down to just four points.

The third quarter saw the two teams trade scores throughout most of the frame. Grace's lead bounced between two and four points until a pair of Morganne Houk free throws grew the lead to six points.

The Trailblazers again ended the final minutes of a quarter on a run as they answered back on a 6-0 run to tie the game at 48 apiece before ultimately entering the fourth and final quarter down a point.

Houk had the first two points in the final quarter, but Ohio Christian continued to ride the momentum as they rattled off 11 unanswered points to build an eight-point lead by the midpoint of the quarter. A well placed timeout by Davis seemed to quell the Trailblazers' run.

The Lancers had gotten back to within four points when Peyton Murphy had back-to-back finishes through tough contact including an old-fashioned three-point play to put the Lancers up for good.

The Lancers went 9-10 from the free throw line down the stretch to ice the game for a 77-65 victory. Grace closed out the fourth quarter on a 24-4 run.

Grace (37 percent) and Ohio Christian (37 percent) shot a near identical percentage from the floor, but Grace had 22 more attempts from the free throw line.

The Lancers were led by a pair of 20 point scorers in Houk (21) and Ryman (20). Murphy had another monstrous game on the board as she came away with 18 rebounds. It is her fourth performance through five games with 14 or more rebounds.

The Lancers will open Crossroads League play on Wednesday at 5:30 pm as they host No. 19 Marian.