Fort Wayne, Ind. - Grace College's women's basketball team dropped a 72-42 contest to 10th St. Francis on Wednesday night.

The Lancers (9-9, 2-6 Crossroads League) were unable to overcome an off-shooting night against the high powered Cougars offense.

USF, who connected on 52 percent of their shots from beyond the arc, opened up the scoring with a trifecta.

Peyton Murphy had the Lancers' first points 2:33 into the quarter with a steal that started her own fast break which she finished with a layup.

Morganne Houk hit a jump shot and Murphy added another bucket from the painted area as Grace trailed 9-6 at the midpoint of the opening frame.

The Cougars opened up their lead in the waning minutes of the quarter thanks to an 11-4 run which was aided by timely 3-point shooting. Houk and Bekah Marshall each scored for the Lancers as Grace entered the quarter break down 20-10.

Murphy traded scores with USF to cut the lead down to single digits at two different points in the second quarter but eventually Grace's offense cooled and the Cougars took advantage and doubled their lead.

The Lancers went the final 3:54 without a point and entered halftime with a 38-18 deficit.

The Cougars shot an impressive 53 percent in the first half while the Lancers converted at a 26 percent clip. Both teams handled the ball well, combining for just seven turnovers. Murphy had a double double in the opening half with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Murphy and Maddy Poynter had the first scores for Grace in the second half, but the Cougars continued to enjoy an impressive outside shooting performance as their lead grew to as 29.

Late in the third quarter Sophia Morrison sank the first trifecta of the game for Grace as the game entered the final frame with USF leading 56-27.

USF grew the lead to as many as 36 points in the final quarter before the Lancers found success at the charity stripe. The lancers went 6-6 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter before ultimately falling 72-42.

"That's a really good basketball team that we played tonight," said Grace head coach Dan Davis. "It's tough to overcome the kind of shooting performance we had tonight and full credit to St. Francis for making it difficult on us. We have to and I know we will shoot the ball better going forward. We have an opportunity to start that as we try and close out this first round of conference games with a win at home on Saturday."

Grace finished the game shooting 25 percent from the floor and made 2-25 shots from beyond the arc. The Lancers were perfect from the charity stripe, but their eight attempts were the fewest in a game this season.

Murphy finished the game with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Morrison had 10 points and Poynter nabbed four rebounds.

The Lancers will return home on Saturday for a 1 p.m. showdown against Mt. Vernon Nazarene.