Grace secures sweep of MVNU
MOUNT VERNON, Ohio – Grace’s women’s basketball team picked up its second road win of the week, downing Mt. Vernon Nazarene 76-65 on Saturday.
Grace had five players score in double figures, led by 16 points apiece from Vironnica Drake and Kyannah Stull.
Kaylie Warble also impressed with a double-double of 13 points and 13 rebounds.
The Lady Lancers (12-12, 6-6 Crossroads League) were dangerous with their relentless fullcourt press. The Cougars (11-13, 4-8 CL) committed 19 turnovers, leading to 20 points for Grace off those miscues.
Grace, on the other hand, tied its season-best with seven turnovers.
In the first quarter, the Cougars led for most of the 10 minutes. Both offenses were quiet, but Grace scored five straight points late to tie the score 11-11.
The Lady Lancers’ defense began to shape the game starting in the second quarter. Grace scored 10 points off turnovers in the first five minutes of the period, which helped open up a seven-point lead.
Back-to-back scores from Warble and Brooke Sugg propelled Grace to an 11-point cushion, and the Lady Lancers led 36-29 at halftime.
MVNU actually outshot Grace in the half, making 50 percent of its shots compared to 43 percent for the Lady Lancers.
The Cougars turned the ball over 10 times compared to just once for Grace.
In the third quarter, MVNU slowly chipped away at Grace’s lead and eventually trailed by just one at 49-48.
Sugg responded with four points over the final minutes to help Grace to a 55-50 advantage entering the final stanza.
Grace’s offense was slow to start the fourth quarter with a few turnovers. The Cougars cut Grace’s lead down to three.
Kaylie Warble gave Grace’s offense a boost with an and-1, and Drake buried a 3-pointer in the corner to put the Lady Lancers ahead 61-54.
After another turnover by the Cougars, Kamryn Hostetler hit a 3-pointer to extend the cushion to 10.
With less than five minutes remaining, Drake made an acrobatic steal off Grace’s press. She flipped a pass to Hostetler who finished a layup in traffic for a 68-56 lead.
Late in the game, Kyannah Stull scored four straight points to help keep the Cougars from rallying, and Sugg secured the victory with four free throws.
Stull’s 16 points came on 5-of-7 shooting, including 2-of-2 from beyond the arc. Drake had 16 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals.
Sugg tallied 15 points, 6 assists and 3 steals, Hostetler scored 12 points, and Lauren Godfrey chipped in four points.
Grace shot 42 percent from the floor compared to 48 percent for MVNU, but the Lady Lancers shot a best-high 93 percent (14-of-15) from the foul line.
The Lady Lancers return home on Wednesday for a doubleheader with Goshen. The women will tip off at 6 p.m. with the men’s game to follow at the Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center.
