WINONA LAKE - Scott Schramm is getting a chance to see his master plan in action maybe quicker than even he expected.

When Schramm took over the Grace women's basketball program last year the biggest area he wanted to address was recruiting. He wanted to bring in quality players to help build the Lancers into a solid program.

So, he went out and got four freshmen to come in this season to learn and develop and be ready to lead the program in a year or two. But as they say, the best-laid plans...

Because some key personnel didn't rejoin the team from last year, Schramm's first recruiting class has been thrust into bigger roles on the team and at a much quicker pace.

Against Marian Wednesday in the Mid-Central Conference opener for both teams, the Lancers started four freshmen on the court against five senior starters for the Knights.

The four freshmen, Kim Menke, Eve Arthur, Amy Doron and Tami Romagnoli, along with seniors Rebecca Wahlstrom and Kara Tripp, fared well against the more-experienced Marian team before falling 54-43 in the Lancer Gym.

"It is a real learning experience for them," Schramm said. "To be able to hang with these teams with freshmen is encouraging, and to be able to see some hope down the road as they improve."

Despite a 3-11 record this year and the presence of the inexperienced players, some of whom are even still learning their positions, the Lancers have been able to remain competitive this year, evidenced by staying with the Knights, who finished second in the MCC a year ago.

"We are not playing freshmen just to play freshmen," Schramm said. "I think they are some of the better players on the team."

And just like most freshmen, Grace is prone to make the mistakes and give Schramm fits. But then they do something positive and the future begins to look brighter.

"We knew going into this year it was going to be one of those tough years and even next year we could still be young with freshmen and sophomores," Schramm said. "They did some things that look real wonderful and really bright, and then the next time down the floor we force the ball, we dribble it off our foot, or dribble into pressure."

Despite shooting 21 percent from the floor in the first half, the Lancers still trailed by only two points, 21-19, at halftime with Marian not exactly blistering things with 22 percent shooting.

The Lancers trailed by only two, 23-21, when Marian went on a 16-2 run led by eight points from Amy Turner, who hadn't even attempted a field goal up until that point. Marian led 39-25 at that point. Grace cut the margin to seven, 50-43, with a minute left, but those "freshmen mistakes, kept the Lancers from getting any closer.

"The first half just killed us," Schramm said. "We almost scored 80 points Saturday without our two top scorers. You have to credit Marian's defense. They play aggressive defense and denied the ball. We didn't set good picks at times, and we looked confused at times."

The experience is obviously important to the Lancers, but Schramm doesn't lose sight of the big picture and why sports are played - to win games.

"The big part of this season to give the freshmen some experience and at the same time, work on winning ball games," he said. "I don't want to give up on my upperclassmen either. I want them to go out working hard. And my seniors have set a good example of working hard. They are helping set the stage. The seniors realize it is a transitional stage."

Grace (3-11, 0-1 MCC) is at Huntington Jan. 11. [[In-content Ad]]