WINONA LAKE, Ind. - Grace College's women's basketball team raced past Great Lakes Christian 112-56 on Friday afternoon.
It was elementary day at Grace College as hundreds of kids from local elementary schools spilled into the Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center to cheer the Lancers (7-5, 0-4 Crossroads League) on to victory.
Emma Sperry had the first seven points for Grace as the Lancers held an early 7-5 lead. The Lancers then ripped off a trio of fastbreak scores and
Abbie Ritzema nailed a trifecta.
Maddy Poynter pushed Grace's advantage to double-digits with four-unanswered points and
Morganne Houk connected from beyond the arc to cap off a 16-0 run for the Lancers.
Grace made their way to the charity stripe late, pushing the lead to 34-11 heading into the quarter break.
It was a 3-point barrage to start the second frame as Grace connected on a trio of shots from range, opening the quarter on a 14-0 run. A layup from
Becca Gerdt at the middle of the frame had Grace ahead 50-13.
Sperry again found her touch from deep and
Braylin Terrell scored in close before scoring again in the final seconds to push the Lancers' lead to 61-23 heading into halftime.
Sperry led all players with 14 first half points while Grace shot 41 percent from the floor in the first half. The Lancers also forced 24 turnovers while committing only 10 themselves.
Poynter hit a 3-point shot to start the quarter before Grace went cold from the field. The Lancers went four minutes without scoring, a drought that was ended by
Rylea Wetz.
To the delight of the youth in attendance, Longenbaugh got Grace's 67th point at the free-throw line as the crowd exploded with joyful exuberance.
The Crusaders cut the deficit down to 73-41 before Houk scored three buckets in a little over 20 seconds. Sperry connected on her third 3-point shot of the game to help the Lancers to close the quarter on a 12-2 run.
With the decision well in hand the Lancers continued to roll in the final frame.
12 players saw action for Grace in the frame and nine got on the scoreboard.
The Lancers led by as many as 58 before closing the game with a final score of 112-56.
Grace finished the game shooting 44 percent from the field while holding Great Lakes to 36 percent. The Lancers forced 36 turnovers which resulted in 39 points.
Houk led Grace with 19 points and 12 assists. Terrell also double-doubled with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Sperry (18 points), Longenbaugh (16 points), Wetz (12 points) and Poynter (11 points) all eclipsed double digit points.
The Lancers will now head west for two games in California. Grace will take on Hope International on Wednesday and Stanton on Thursday.
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