WINONA LAKE, Ind. - Grace college’s women’s basketball team opened the 2024-25 season in dramatic fashion with an 83-82 overtime win over Concordia on Saturday afternoon.
The Lancers trailed by 15-points after the first quarter, but slowly chipped away at the lead over the next three frames to force overtime and ultimately claim the victory.
“So proud of the fight this team showed,” said Grace head coach Dan Davis. “We got behind early, but I thought our conditioning really paid off as we got better throughout the game. Excited to see this team get back on the floor.”
Peyton Murphy led the way for the Lancers with an impressive double double. The senior forward had a career high 22 points to go along with 12 rebounds, 3 steals and a block while playing all 45 minutes.
Grace got off to a slow start in the season opener, shooting just 29 percent from the floor in the opening quarter. After holding a narrow 5-2 lead, the Lancers went six minutes without a point, allowing Concordia to go on a 17-0 run.
By the quarter break the Lancers found themselves in a 24-9 hole.
Kensie Ryman hit a trifecta to start the second frame but the Cardinals were able to maintain a double digit lead for most of the quarter.
Sophia Morrison had a triple and Morganne Houk had a layup which cut the lead down to eight points with just 10 seconds left, but a pair of Concordia free throws pushed the lead back to 10 points at the halftime break.
Grace shot 36 percent in the first half while Concordia connected on 46 percent of the shots. Both teams hit three shots from behind the arc.
Houk led Grace with eight points in the first half and Murphy had six rebounds.
The start of the second half saw the Cardinals push their lead back to 14 points but Grace remained undaunted.
Kate Thomas had a two-point shot and Murphy added a pair of free throws as the Lancers again sliced the lead down to single digits.
Concordia momentarily pushed the to 11, but Ryman converted five unanswered points for the Lancers and Morrison had her second trifecta of the afternoon to pull Grace within a possession of the Cardinals.
Bekah Marshall ended the third frame with the Lancers' third made shot from behind the arc to send the game into the fourth quarter with Grace behind by just two points.
The Lancers captured their first lead of the game since early in the first quarter when Morrison hit a 3-point shot in transition. Grace’s lead was short lived though as the Cardinals responded with eight points of their own to regain a seven-point edge by the midpoint of the quarter.
Houk then played a role in three unanswered baskets for Grace as the teams battled neck and neck down the stretch.
The Lancers trailed by four with under a minute left but a timely steal and score from Marshall and steady shooting from the charity stripe from Murphy saw Grace tie the game with 14 seconds left in regulation.
The Lancers withstood a final shot attempt from the Cardinals as the game entered extra time tied at 70.
As they had throughout much of the contest Concordia held the lead during most of the overtime period, leading by as many as five, but the Lancers continued to show resilience.
Ryman and Houk each had six points in the overtime period, combining to score Grace’s first 12 points of the extra frame.
The game was tied at 82 with 17 seconds left when Murphy worked her way to the free throw line. Murphy sank the go ahead free throw and the Lancers again played solid defense to whistle, holding on for the 83-82 win.
Grace finished the game shooting 46 percent from the floor and 41 percent from beyond the arc. The Lancers held a 42-32 advantage on points in the paint and had nine turnovers to Concordia’s 14.
The Lancers will travel to Division II Lee University on Saturday for an exhibition contest against the flames.

Lancers Top Maple Leafs, Sit Atop CL Standings
WINONA LAKE, Ind. - Grace College’s men's soccer team picked up a win over Goshen on Saturday and moved into a first place tie in the Crossroads League standings.
The Lancers beat the Maple Leafs 1-0 and jumped to the top of the conference table, passing No. 6 IWU and RV Marian who both lost.
Grace (7-6-2, 6-2) is tied with Huntington for first in the conference and can guarantee a share of the conference crown with a win over No. 15 Bethel. The Lancers hold a tie-breaker over the Foresters in regards to conference tournament seeding.
Saturday’s contest was a defensive battle throughout. The first half saw just six shot attempts on which neither goalie was forced to make a save.
Grace had a chance early in the frame when Daniel Santos Rosa worked the ball deep into the attacking third and ripped a shot towards goal that was blocked by a maple leaf defender.
With 10 minutes left in the first half, Teague Misner had a corner kick opportunity which he dropped just in front of goal. A Goshen defender misplayed his first touch on the ball leaving it lying on ground just feet from the goal line, but Grace was unable to capitalize as the Maple Leafs swept it clear of danger.
At the halftime break the game remained scoreless.
As the second half got underway Grace was aggressive on the offensive end. The Lancers had three corner kicks and two shots within the first 10 minutes, including an attempt from Juan Garcia that he rang off the crossbar.
The deadlock was finally broken in the 60th minute. Gavin Morgan slid a pass to Kyle Holwerda who blasted a point blank shot on goal. His attempt was saved but the rebound bounced to Josh Cruz who capitalized with his third goal in four games.
After the Lancers goal the Maple Leafs made an offensive push. Goshen had four shots on goal but Matteo Conci was up to task, maintaining the clean sheet.
With 10 minutes left it appeared as if Holwerda had earned a penalty kick after an illegal tackle in the box, but after video review it the foul was overturned.
The Lancers defense limited the Maple Leafs chances down the stretch, holding them to just one shot that was sent well high of goal as Grace held on for the 1-0 victory.
Grace has now won four-straight games, and have gone 384 minutes without surrendering a goal.
The Lancers will close out the regular season at 7 p.m. on Wednesday on the road against Bethel.

Grace Women’s Soccer Nabs Another Shutout Victory
GOSHEN, Ind. - Grace’s women’s soccer team collected its 11th shutout of the season, beating Goshen 1-0 on Saturday.
Jasmin Slump provided the game-winning goal in the first half, and her goal proved to be the difference in Grace’s road victory.
The Lancers (11-3-2, 3-3-2 Crossroads League) have recorded three shutouts across the past four games.
Grace was dominant in the first half, taking 10 of the 11 shot attempts over the first 45 minutes.
Tori Twombly and Ellie Grieser each shot in the first six minutes, and Jaylin Young had a header after a corner kick.
Grace did not have to wait long for the go-ahead goal. Slump advanced from her defending position, maneuvering through Goshen’s midfield.
Slump found herself with a cushion of space and decided to launch a shot from 40 yards away. Her shot dipped under the crossbar and beyond the outstretched arms of Goshen’s goalkeeper, producing the game-winning goal in the 19th minute.
Grace unleashed a flurry of offense across the final 10 minutes. Zoe Mueller, Madelief Lowik, Slump and Lilli Oberhoff tried shots across a nine-minute span, and the Lancers added two corner kicks as well. But Goshen’s defense held firm to keep the score 1-0 at halftime.
The Lancers had a 10-1 shot advantage and took all four corner kicks.
Grace nearly added to its tally early in the second half. Audrey Abel had a shot in the first minute of action that went wide.
Abel also nearly scored two minutes later, but her close-range effort hit the goalpost.
Grace’s possession continued to keep Grace largely in control of the game. Rylee Burns was a consistent threat along the sideline, moving the ball into dangerous positions several times.
But the Maple Leafs managed to keep Grace from scoring again.
Goshen tried to summon a late equalizer, attempting a handful of shots over the last six minutes, but goalkeeper Ivy Cline collected the ball twice in traffic in the penalty box to eliminate a potential scoring chance for Goshen.
Cline finished the match with three saves for her shutout performance. She was protected well by the starting backline of Slump, Oberhoff, Young and Mueller.
Abel led Grace with four shot attempts, and Slump and Mueller had two shots on goal apiece.
The Lancers will end the regular season on Wednesday at home against Bethel at 7 p.m.

Grace Volleyball Falters At BU
MISHAWAKA, Ind. - Grace’s volleyball team dropped a narrow five-set match at Bethel on Saturday.
In a back-and-forth match, the Pilots secured the win by winning the fifth set in extra points.
No. 16 Grace produced its best blocking match of the season, racking up 15 block points with 30 block assists. But it wasn’t enough to extend Grace’s four-match winning streak.
The Lancers (19-6, 12-3 Crossroads League) have three matches left in the regular season, beginning with a pivotal home match against No. 15 Mt. Vernon Nazarene. The two teams are deadlocked in the league standings for second place. The match on Wednesday will begin at 7 p.m.
Saturday’s match saw Grace slip into an early hole against Bethel. The Pilots scored the first four points of the first set and maintained a small lead for much of the set.
A few timely kills from Leah Henderson helped Grace stay within striking distance, but the Pilots ended the set on a 6-2 spurt to win the opener by three.
The Lancers responded well by claiming the second and third sets.
In the second set, Grace was powered by a 5-0 run to charge ahead. The Pilots pulled within one late in the set, by Alisha Voss had a kill and a block over the final few rallies to enable Grace’s 25-21 victory.
The third set had several momentum shifts. Grace struck first with two separate 4-0 runs, eventually building a 20-16 advantage.
But the Pilots rallied furiously with an 8-2 run to pull in front 24-22.
But after a timeout, Grace settled. A kill from Brea Harris was followed by three attack errors from the Pilots as the Lancers grabbed the 26-24 win.
Grace was unable to polish off the Pilots in the fourth set. The Lancers’ offense was held to a .077 attacking percentage in the set as Bethel won by six to force a tiebreaker.
The Lancers began the fifth set with the lead thanks to a kill from Henderson and Voss to give Grace a 5-2 advantage.
The Pilots recovered to even the score at 10s. Grace edged in front to lead 14-13, but the Pilots survived with two quick points.
Grace was unable to make winning plays down the stretch, and Bethel clinched the match with a 17-15 victory.
Jadyn Ross led Grace’s offense with 13 kills, adding eight digs and three block assists. Harris pounded out 12 kills, 3 block assists and 3 digs.
Voss finished with eight kills and eight block assists, and Henderson (8 kills, 5 block assists) and Sahara Bee (7 kills, 4 block assists) had balanced outings as well.
Liz Schmidt produced 18 digs, McKenzie Stakely tallied 11 digs, and Olivia Martinez dug nine balls.
Riley Owens (29 assists, 8 digs) and Morgan Syoen (20 assists, 7 digs) directed Grace’s attack.