No. 2 Grace (Ind.) (29-5) def. No. 11 St. Mary of the Woods (Ind.) (28-6) | 86-71
Grace advances to the NAIA National Quarterfinals with a victory on Thursday afternoon in Kansas City, Mo.
St. Mary of the Woods has been eliminated from championship play.
GAME NOTES/HIGHLIGHTS – Grace (Ind.)
The Lancers improved to 29-5 on the season with today’s victory.
This marks the 14th appearance at the NAIA National Championship for Grace College.
Grace is now 23-11 all-time at the Championship.
The Lancers extend their current winning streak to nine games.
This is the fourth-straight appearance at the event for the Lancers
First appearance in the event was in 1992.
Grace won the NAIA Division II National Championship in 1992, in an 85-79 overtime win over Northwestern (Iowa).
Grace led at the half, 39-36, and then outscored the Pomeroys, 47-35, in the second half.
Three Lancers finished in double-figures including: Ian Raasch, who led all scorers with 27 points, teammate Ian Scott added 22 points and Brett Sickafoose scored 11.
For the game, Grace shot 54.7-percent, going 29-of-53
Grace forced 13 turnovers and had four blocks.
Grace went to the free-throw line 30 times in the contest, shooting 83.3 percent, on 25-of-30.
The game featured nine ties and five lead changes.
Grace only shot one three-point field goal in the entire second half and went 1-for-1.
GAME NOTES/HIGHLIGHTS – St. Mary of the Woods (Ind.)
SMWC ends its season with an overall record of 28-6
No. 11 St. Mary of the Woods and No. 11 Southern Oregon entered the final site as the lowest seeded teams left in the tournament.
The Pomeroys have qualified for the NAIA National Championship Tournament just twice in their programs history, 2024 and 2025.
In their two appearances, the Pomeroy’s are now 2-2.
Greg Johnson led SMWC in scoring with 16 points.
St. Mary of the Woods also shot 83.3-percent from the free-throw line, going 15-of-18.
The Pomeroys shot 25-of-64 from the floor, good for 39.1-percent.
Shon Tupuola led the way with five rebounds.
The Pomeroys defense held Grace to just 30-percent shooting from three-point range.
They also forced 15 turnovers.