LANSING, Mich. - Grace College's Women's basketball high-powered offense fueled a fifth-straight win with a 114-95 win over Cleary on Saturday afternoon.
The Lancers (5-1) scored more than 100 points for a fourth straight game, and have outscored their opponents 605-448 during the win streak.
Emma Sperry and
Maddy Poynter impressed again in the victory, as both players eclipsed 30 points.
Poynter and Sperry combined for Grace's first seven points of the match, but it was Cleary (1-3) who held the early advantage. The Cougars jumped out to an eight-point lead thanks in part to a 9-2 run which pushed them ahead 21-13.
Sperry answered Cleary's scoring run with a trifecta and
Becca Gerdt added a fast break layup to cut into the deficit. A few possessions later Poynter pulled the Lancers to within a point and Abbie Ritizema had a steal and a score to put the Lancers ahead 24-23.
Poynter and Sperry both added late buckets for Grace, sending the game into the first quarter break with the Lancers ahead 30-26.
The second quarter opened with another 3-point field goal from Sperry and
Paula Fernandez scored in the paint to push the Lancers lead to nine.
The Cougars cut the lead in half but Fernadez found her touch from deep as she sank her first 3-point field goal of the game. An old-fashioned 3-point play from Poynter put the advantage for Grace at 12.
Braylin Terrell began to make her presence felt on the defensive glass sparking numerous fast breaks with quick outlet passes. Terrell also got in on the scoring to give the Lancers a 51-37 lead. Poynter then went 1-2 from the charity stripe to push the Lancers lead to 15. Her missed free throw brought the end to an incredible streak of 19 consecutive makes from the line.
Sperry pushed the Lancers total to 60 late in the half but Cleary was able to slightly close the gap, as they trailed 60-48 at the intermission.
Grace shot an impressive 58 percent from the floor in the first half while Cleary shot 53 percent. Both teams committed eight turnovers.
Cleary pulled to within eight points early in the second half but a pair of free throws from Poynter and a 3-point play from Gerdt reestablished the Lancers' lead.
The Lancers paraded to the free throw line in the middle of the quarter. Grace converted on 15-21 shots from the line in the third frame. The Cougars went 7-10.
Kate Thomas and Sperry both had blocks on the defensive end and a last second trifecta from
Molly Long sent Grace into the final frame ahead 96-74.
The fourth quarter was the quietest from both teams offensively allowing the Lancers lead to play in their favor.
Thomas, Terrell and Sperry had Grace only six points through the first five minutes of the quarter, a rarity for an offense that averages nearly three points per minute.
Grace was locked in defensively though as they held the Cougars to just 33 percent shooting from the floor, meaning Cleary could only close the gap to 13 during Grace's cold stretch.
Terrel broke the seal on the bucket with 4:46 left in the game and on the next possession Sperry hit a 3-point shot seemingly putting the game out of reach.
Bekah Longenbaugh added a pair of late points from the charity stripe to help Grace secure the 114-95 win.
"This was a tough and gritty performance from these ladies," commented Grace head coach
Dan Davis. "There was a lot of outside noise that came our way this week and we were down a few bodies because of injury. I thought we weathered that first stretch from Cleary well and battled back to play our brand of ball to get the win."
Sperry had 35 points and 8 rebounds and 3 blocks while Poynter had 34 points and nine assists. Gerdt scored 18 points and had three steals. Terrell nabbed 13 rebounds and blocked four shots.
The Lancers finished the game shooting 49 percent from the floor and added nine 3-point field goals. The Cougars shot 48 percent for the floor and connected on just three trifectas.
Grace will start Crossroads League play on Wednesday as they play host to Taylor. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 P.M. with the men's game to follow.
