Stull’s career high powers Lady Lancers
WINONA LAKE, Ind. – Grace’s women’s basketball team continued its winning ways with a 73-57 upset of Huntington on Wednesday.
Kyannah Stull scored a career-high 25 points to take down the Foresters (17-11, 10-7 Crossroads League), who are receiving votes in the NAIA Top 25.
Grace sits in a three-way tie for fourth place in the league standings with one regular season contest remaining. The Lady Lancers can finish anywhere from fourth to sixth based on Saturday’s results.
Grace’s final game of the regular season is at No. 8 Taylor on Saturday at 1 p.m. The Trojans have won 16 straight games and are playing for a shot at the Crossroads League championship.
The first half was at times chaotic, but the Lady Lancers (16-13, 10-7 CL) controlled the action with their aggressive defensive pressure.
Huntington shot well in the first quarter (54 percent), but the Foresters struggled to deal with Grace’s defense. Grace forced Huntington into five turnovers in the opening period.
Vironnica Drake was aggressive from the start, scoring nine points in the quarter to propel Grace to a 20-17 lead.
Grace’s defense was even more impressive in the second quarter. The Foresters were silenced to just seven points in the period, and the Lady Lancers slowly built up a lead.
The Lady Lancers pulled ahead 35-24 at halftime thanks to a last-second drive and score by Stull, who scored eight points in the half.
The Foresters fought their way back in the third quarter with a flurry of 3-pointers. Huntington hit a trio of triples early in the period to slice Grace’s lead down to 40-35 and force a timeout by the Lady Lancers.
Grace was outscored by seven in the quarter, but the Lady Lancers still managed to hold a 47-43 advantage as the game entered the final quarter.
Huntington made its first three shots of the fourth quarter to tie the score, but Stull’s hot hand kept Grace’s offense afloat. Stull hit back-to-back 3-pointers in the fourth for a 53-50 lead.
The Foresters then made a 3-pointer on the next possession to tie the game again at 53-53, but the Lady Lancers’ defense was about to win the game.
Grace held Huntington to just four more points for the rest of the contest, stretching the final 7:26 of regulation.
Drake helped Grace gain separation; she scored seven points during a 9-0 run to break open the tie.
Kaylie Warble then secured the win by converting on her post opportunities late in the game. She scored six points over the final four minutes to keep the Foresters at a distance, resulting in a 16-point victory.
Overall, Grace ended the game on a 20-4 run and poured in 26 points total in the fourth quarter.
Stull shot 7-of-11 from the floor, 5-of-6 from beyond the arc and 6-of-7 from the foul line for her 25 points. She added 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals.
Drake tallied 19 points, 6 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals in a balanced performance, and Warble just missed a double-double with nine points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
Kamryn Hostetler had nine points and no turnovers as Grace’s primary point guard, Sugg amassed 7 points, 5 assists and 5 steals, and Pam Miller chipped in four points and three boards.
Grace shot a sizzling 53 percent from beyond the arc, and they also held a dominant plus-13 advantage on the glass. The Lady Lancers grabbed 17 offensive rebounds, resulting in 18 second chance points.