WINONA LAKE, Ind. - Grace College's women's basketball dropped their Crossroads League opener to Taylor 85-78.

The Lancers (5-2, 0-1 CL), despite being without Morganne Houk (14.8 ppg) and Maddy Poynter (26.0 ppg), led for most of the game before Taylor surged ahead late and ultimately came away with the victory.

Grace blitzed ahead early thanks in part to five points from Abbie Ritzema. Grace led 11-0 before the Trojans finally broke the seal on the basket three minutes into the quarter.

Taylor (6-0, 1-0 CL) came back with nine unanswered on a run that was ended by a score from Braylin Terrell. Taylor grabbed their first lead of the game at 15-14 but Becca Gerdt immediately recaptured the lead for Grace.

Ritzema added a late score for the Lancers as they carried an 18-17 lead into the quarter break.

Early in the second frame the Lancers lead grew to five thanks to consecutive buckets from Emma Sperry and Paula Fernandez.

Taylor tied the game at 26 but again the Lancers answered right back. Rylea Wetz scored and Bekah Longenbaugh added an old-fashioned 3-point play to reestablish Grace's advantage.

With just under two-minutes left in the half the Lancers lead reached double digits. Terrell, Fernandez and Gerdt all score putting Grace ahead 42-31. The Lancers led 42-35 at the half.

The Lancers shot 46 percent in the first half, while the Trojans hit at 29 percent clip. The Trojans forced 17 turnovers, one more than they committed themselves.

Grace and Taylor traded buckets to start the quarter before Longenbaugh hit a trifecta to start a Lancers run.

Sperry hit a pair of shots from the charity stripe before converting a second chance opportunity on the next possession. Sperry then sparked a fastbreak with a steal that Wetz finished on the offensive end to give the Lancers a 13-point lead at the midpoint of the quarter.

Grace's lead stayed steady for much of the remainder of the quarter but a burst from the Trojans in the final minute had Grace clinging to a one-point lead entering the fourth.

Taylor carried their momentum into the final frame and edged ahead 69-67, their first lead since the first quarter.

Sperry recaptured the lead for Grace with a trifecta but Taylor answered back on the next possession with a 3-point shot of his own.

After Taylor pushed ahead by four Sperry hit another 3-point shot to pull within one but the Lancers couldn't get any closer, dropping the contest 85-78.

"Tough loss tonight," commented Grace head coach Dan Davis. "Could have won this game if we did some small things better, but we can use this as a learning experience early in the season to improve for the next one."

Grace ended the game shooting 42 percent from the field. The Lancers committed 33 turnovers and allowed 29 offensive rebounds.

Sperry led Grace with 22 points and nine rebounds. Gerdt, with 14, and Ritzema, with 11, both eclipsed double digit points. Terrell was one block away from tying the program. She swatted six total shots.

The Lancers will return to action on Saturday for a road game against No. 7 St. Francis.