Lancers fall in conference semifinals
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Grace College’s women’s basketball dropped its semifinal matchup in the Crossroads League tournament 68-49 to Marian on Friday night.
The Lady Lancers season is not over as Grace will now await a potential at-large bid into the NAIA National Tournament. The NAIA will unveil the full 64-team field on Thursday.
In the early stages of the contest Grace (21-9,13-5 CL) worked the ball inside and converted on the first two possessions.
Karlee Feldman got the game started with a tough layup through traffic and Kiersten Findley followed suit as Grace took a quick 4-0 lead.
Feldman and Findley continued to trade scores for the Lady Lancers and at the midpoint of the frame Grace held a 10-6 lead.
The Knights (26-4, 15-3 CL) took their first lead of the game amidst a 9-0 run as the Lady Lancers began to turn the ball over. Grace committed six turnovers in the final five minutes of the first quarter.
Kate Rulli scored just before the end of the quarter after corralling an offensive rebound and laying in the ensuing shot.
The Knights five-point lead at the quarter break quickly turned into a nine-point lead as Grace struggled to solve Marian’s stout defense.
Maddie Ryman broke the seal on the Lady Lancers basket at the 5:36 mark of the quarter to draw Grace back within eight points.
Ryman’s trifecta seemed to energize the junior guard as she scored eight straight points for Grace.
Grace was unable to reel in Marian as the Knights offense continued to hum at an efficient rate, sending Grace into halftime down 32-21.
Grace shot at a 32 percent rate while Marian converted on 50 percent of their shots. The Lady Lancers committed 13 turnovers in the first half.
The Knights continued their impressive offensive showing with a 3-point shot to start the second half.
Grace’s first points of the quarter came from a pair of Feldman free throws as the Lady Lancers tried to keep pace with the surging Knights.
A 6-0 burst briefly gave the Lady Lancers life, but Grace couldn’t cool Marian’s hot shooting as the Knights continued to hit at an alarming rate.
Grace trailed by as many as 18 in the quarter and trailed by 50-34 deficit entering the final stanza.
Peyton Murphy scored the first four points of the final quarter as Grace tried to muster a late comeback.
The Lady Lancers narrowed the deficit to 12 points on a pair of occasions, but were unable to draw any closer as they fell by a final score of 68-49.
“Took one on the chin tonight,” said Grace head coach Dan Davis. “Gotta give Marian credit for being the aggressor and dictating both sides of the ball. They scored 28 points off of our turnovers and that was the difference in the game. We won’t beat ourselves up too much over this one, but there are still some things that we can take from tonight as we look towards the national tournament. Grace finished the game shooting 33 percent compared to Marian’s 51 percent. The Lady Lancers turned the ball over 20 times which the Knights capitalized on to the tune of 28 points.
Murphy led Grace with 13 rebounds, she also chipped in seven rebounds and two assists.
Ryman poured in 12 points and Feldman scored 10 points while also grabbing seven rebounds.
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