WINONA LAKE, Ind. - Grace College's women's basketball team dropped a hard-fought contest to the Huntington 82-68 on Wednesday night.

The Lancers (6-4, 0-3 Crossroads League) couldn't overcome a third quarter in which they were outscored 27-12.

Grace got off to a slow offensive start, scoring just three points through the first three minutes of the game. But the Lancers still only trailed 8-5 after driving a layup from Morganne Houk.

Maddy Poynter then scored in her return from injury before both teams went cold from the field. Nearly three minutes elapsed without either side finding the bottom of the net.

Huntington was the first to break to seal on the bucket and looked to extend their lead, but 3-point field goals from Molly Long and Houk on consecutive possessions had the Lancers within three.

Emma Sperry answered a Forester score with a trifecta of her own to pull the Lancers as close as two points. A pair of late scores from Huntington sent the game into the quarter break with Grace behind 22-16.

Rylea Wetz found the found twine from deep to start the second frame, and scores from Braylin Terrell and Houk had Grace ahead by one.

The lead didn't last long however as a 13-0 Foresters' run reestablished a comfortable advantage for the visitors.

Houk put an end to the drought from the charity stripe then added two more points on the fast break. Houk had eight of the Lancers' 16 points in the frame.

Grace kept the deficit around the 10-point mark for the remainder of the quarter and entered the half down 45-32.

The third quarter proved to be costly for the Lancers as they struggled to match Huntington's offense.

Sperry connected on a trifecta, which was the Lancers' only score through the first 4:40 of the half.

Huntington hit on nearly half of their shot attempts and saw their lead grow to as many as 28. Grace was outscored 27-12 in the frame and entered the fourth down 72-44.

Houk started the final quarter with a trifecta as she tried to kick start a ferocious comeback. It seemed to work as Sperry found her touch from deep. Houk scored from beyond the arc again, helping to cut the lead to 20 points in just two minutes.

Trifectas continued to rain for Grace as Bekah Longenbaugh joined the party, and Houk scored again, cutting the deficit to 14 with four minutes left.

The Foresters were able to keep Grace at that distance though, matching the Lancers over the final minutes to secure the 82-68 win.

"I didn't think we came out ready to play, and they were the tougher team in the first half. From an offensive standpoint, we played selfish and didn't move the ball as well as we wanted to and didn't crash the boards. Defensively, we didn't communicate well or trap aggressively enough," said Grace head coach Dan Davis. "The ladies took ownership in the fourth quarter and played much better. So there are some good lessons for us as we continue to build and grow."

Grace shot 29 percent from the field while Huntington shot 40 percent. Both teams committed 18 turnovers. The Foresters held a 59-46 advantage on the boards.

Houk led all players with 24 points while also chipping in 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals.

Grace will be back in action on Saturday at 1 p.m. when they travel to Michigan to take on Spring Arbor.