WINONA LAKE, Ind. - Grace College's women's basketball team fell to the Spring Arbor Cougars 67-53 on Saturday afternoon.
After a poor first quarter, the Lancers (9-13, 2-10 Crossroads League) played nearly even with the Cougars but were unable to overcome the first frame in which they shot just 18 percent from the field.
Grace would draw first blood in the contest when freshman
Becca Gerdt grabbed an offensive rebound and immediately went back up to convert the second chance points.
Gerdt was the Lancer's lone scorer through the first 7:13 of play as the Cougars (15-7, 8-4 CL) built a 9-5 lead.
Kensie Ryman bit into the four-point deficit with a trifecta coming off of an assist from
Maddy Poynter, but Spring Arbor connected on back-to-back three point field goals to carry a 15-8 lead into the quarter break.
Sophia Morrison ended Grace's offensive woes with a trifecta early in the second quarter but the Cougars answered back with one of their own.
Grace found success from the charity stripe in the second frame going 6-6, but they were unable to match a hot shooting Cougars offense and trailed 28-13 with four minutes left in the half.
Morrison and Ryman each added late scores as the Lancers entered halftime down by 12 points.
The Lancers shot 22 percent from the floor in the first half and 18 percent from range. Meanwhile the Cougars hit at an efficient 47 and 40 percent. Grace committed one less turnover than the Spring Arbor but were outscored 14-4 in the paint.
Grace came out of the intermission with a sense of urgency and exploded on an 8-0 run.
All eight points came courtesy of
Peyton Murphy who book-ended the run with a pair of trifectas, the second which prompted a quick timeout from the Cougars.
The timeout seemed to settle Spring Arbor momentarily as they rebuilt their advantage to nine points but Grace remained undeterred.
Poynter went coast-to-coast on one score and Murphy completed an acrobatic and-one score on the next possession to cut the lead down 41-37.
Morganne Houk had a late score for the Lancers but the quarter ended on a 6-2 run for Spring Arbor who led 47-39 entering the fourth quarter.
Grace again started the quarter efficiently from the field. Morrison hit a mid range jumper and Ryman connected on another 3-point field goal to cut the lead down to five.
It would be as close as the Lancers would get though, as Spring Arbor pulled away late and put the finishing touches on a 67-53 win.
"This was another tough Crossroads League battle," commented Grace head coach
Dan Davis. "I thought our girls really battled today and did some good things we just weren't consistent enough to play winning basketball. This team will continue to fight and we will be ready to go against Taylor on Wednesday."
Grace finished the game shooting 31 percent from the floor and Spring Arbor finished at 45 percent. The Lancers had just 10 turnovers compared to the Cougars 16, but were outscored 30-16 in the paint and 18-4 on second chance points.
Murphy led Grace with15 points and eight rebounds. She now sits just four points shy of 1,00 career points. Also contributing offensively were Ryman with 13 points and Morrison with 12 points.
The Lancers will be back in action on Wednesday at 5:30 as they host Taylor.
