Grace battles tight with No. 21 ACU
PHOENIX, Ariz. – Grace’s women’s basketball team wrapped up its trip to Arizona with a hard-fought 79-71 defeat at No. 21 Arizona Christian on Wednesday.
The Lady Lancers (8-8) were led by 20 points from Vironnica Drake and 19 from Brooke Sugg. Grace was unable to overcome a pair of untimely droughts to grab the upset.
The first quarter started with a 3-pointer by Sugg and ended with a late layup from Kyannah Stull. But ACU (9-4) wrapped up the quarter with a 21-17 lead.
Early in the second quarter, Sugg knocked down back-to-back triples to chop ACU’s lead down to 28-27.
But Grace hit a dry spell after Sugg’s treys and did not score again for the next four minutes.
Grace fell behind by 12 but managed to whittle the deficit back to 39-35 at halftime.
In the third quarter, the Lady Lancers continued to keep pressure on ACU and eventually made a push in the closing minutes.
With 3:21 left in the period, Grace trailed 53-42. But Drake rallied Grace with seven straight points over the final minutes; the Lady Lancers were behind just 56-53 entering the final stanza.
Grace’s offense hit another fateful drought to start the fourth quarter. The Lady Lancers were scoreless for the first 4:15 of the fourth, allowing ACU to open up a comfortable 66-53 cushion.
The Lady Lancers still managed to fight back in the final frantic minutes as 3-pointers from Stull and Drake gave Grace hope.
Drake made back-to-back layups to pull Grace within five at 70-65 with 3:01 on the clock. But ACU iced the win by making four of its next five field goals, resulting in the final eight-point margin of victory.
Drake’s 20 points came with six rebounds, and Sugg had a busy stat line with 19 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds and 3 steals.
Brooke Treadway was a boost off the bench, making 6-of-6 from the floor for 12 points with three steals. Stull tallied 10 points, 4 assists, 4 rebounds and 2 steals, and Kaylie Warble had three points and seven rebounds.
The Lady Lancers return home on Dec. 29 for a doubleheader with the men’s team. Grace will host Asbury at noon at the Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center.