Warriors remain unbeaten with win over Grace
WINONA LAKE, Ind. – Grace’s women’s basketball team was unable to hand No. 22 Indiana Tech its first defeat on Thursday.
The Lady Lancers (3-4) fell 81-54 as the Warriors’ defense kept Grace’s attack at bay.
The game started at a rapid pace. The Warriors tried to pull away early with a trio of 3-pointers in the first quarter.
But Grace kept pace thanks to seven first-quarter points from Kyannah Stull and four more from Kenzie McMahon.
The Warriors (9-0) led 19-14 after the first quarter, but Indiana Tech quickly grabbed a comfortable lead in the second. Tech made six of its first seven field goals to go ahead by double digits.
Grace pulled to within nine on a deep 3-pointer from Kaylee Patton. But the Warriors ended the half on a 12-3 run to grab a 43-25 lead at halftime.
The Lady Lancers committed 10 turnovers and had just one assist before halftime; conversely, the Warriors shot 50 percent from the floor and assisted on 15 of their 18 made shots.
Indiana Tech began the second half with an and-1, but Grace outplayed the visitors in the third quarter. The Lady Lancers outscored Tech 15-13 in the frame thanks to four points apiece from McMahon and Kiara Gill.
Kamryn Hostetler gave Grace a boost to start the fourth quarter. The point guard scored five quick points. Coupled with a triple from Stull, Grace sliced the gap to 12 at 60-48 with eight minutes remaining.
But Grace’s momentum hit a cold stretch, managing just two more made field goals for the rest of the contest. The Warriors took advantage to end the game on a 21-6 run.
For the game, Grace shot just 32 percent (18 of 57) from the floor compared to 46 percent for Indiana Tech.
Stull scored a team-high 14 points to go along with five rebounds, and McMahon just missed a double-double with eight points and eight boards.
Hostetler scored eight points with two assists, Patton tallied eight points off the bench, and O’Day and Gill each added five points.
“There are a lot of positives to take from tonight. We are learning how to close the gaps against really good teams,” said Grace head coach Dan Davis. “Our freshmen had some strong moments. We had a good game plan defensively, but we need to implement it better in game. We will get there.”
The Lady Lancers are home again on Saturday, hosting Taylor at 3 p.m. The game will follow Grace men’s basketball versus Goshen at 1 p.m.