WINONA LAKE, Ind. - Grace College's women's basketball team saw its five-game game winning streak come to an end against Mo. 19 Marian on Wednesday night.

The Lancers (5-1, 0-1 Crossroads League) lost 85-66 in the Crossroads League opener, to taste their first defeat of the 2024-season.

Grace got off to a sluggish start on Wednesday, shooting just 25 percent from the floor in the opening quarter and found themselves down nine points just four minutes into the game.

Pey Murphy and Sophia Morrison both converted shots from the charity stripe and Morrison added a trifecta to cut the lead down to 14-12 but a six-point run from Marian (6-1, 1-0 CL) saw grace trailing by eight at the quarter break.

Marian continued to feed Abbey McNally who exploded for 30 first-half points, and helped the Knights grow their lead to 18 points early in the second frame.

The Lancers found their footing towards the middle of the quarter as they slowly chipped away at the deficit. Kensie Ryman had a pair of 3-point field goals and Morganne Houk added another shot from beyond the arc to close  the gap down the eight. At the halftime intermission Grace trailed 42-31.

Ryman led Grace with nine first half points while shooting an impressive 3-4 from beyond the arc. Murphy grabbed seven rebounds in the opening half.

The Lancers continued to inch closer as the second half got underway.

Grace found success from the free throw line early in the third quarter as they converted on 7-8 to cut the Knights lead down to six points with five minutes left in the quarter.

Marian converted an old-fashioned three-point play which was immediately answered by a trifecta from Houk. The Knights then pushed their lead to 10 points and this time it was Ryman who answered with a shot from range.

Grace was down seven with 3:14 left in the third quarter, but their offensive firepower had run out. Marian closed out the frame on a 10-2 run to push the lead to 65-50 heading into the final quarter.
Houk had a trifecta on Grace's first possession in the fourth quarter to get them within 12 points but it was as close as they would get.

The Knights would lead by as many as 23 points before ultimately winning 85-66.

"We didn't get off to a good start and it's really hard to play from behind against a really good team," said Grace head coach Dan Davis. "We cut the lead to six in the third quarter but we failed to do the little things down the stretch that would have given us a chance to win. Lots of things we can learn from the film on this game which will help us get better for Saturday."

Houk led Grace with 25 points and Murphy narrowly missed a double double with 13 rebounds and seven points. Ryman added 14 points.

Marian shot 58 percent from the floor while Grace hit at a 35 percent clip. The Lancers were outscored by 44 points in the paint.

The Lancers will be back in action at 1 p.m. on Saturday against No. 2 Indiana Wesleyan.