Grace's Upset Bid Falls Short
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
WINONA LAKE - The Grace College women's basketball team didn't look like a 4-11 squad Wednesday night against NAIA No. 21 Marian.
Bad bounces, missed opportunities and free throws proved to be too much for the Lancers as they fell to Marian 76-71 in a Mid-Central Conference overtime thriller.
Grace overcame a 10-point halftime deficit to take the lead at 58-57 with 36.9 seconds left in regulation.
Whitney Frame converted an old-fashioned three-point play for the Knights to put Marian up by a basket at 60-58.
The Lancers responded as they drove down the court, worked the ball around the perimeter before finding sophomore Amanda Downing open underneath the basket. Downing drew a foul, and with Grace already in the double bonus, went to the charity stripe with 7.1 seconds left.
Downing nailed both free throws with the second bouncing around the rim a few times before dropping.
Grace put some full-court pressure on the Knights as they inbounded the ball. The pressure worked as the Knights failed to get off a shot before the final buzzer sounded.
The overtime session tipped off in a strange way as Grace controlled the jump ball.
Senior center Amber Riffell tipped the ball to Downing who dribbled toward the east end of the Lancer gym. As the rest of the Lancer and Knights squads drifted toward Downing, Grace head coach Scott Blum realized the Lancers were going towards the west end of the gym.
Downing then found a streaking Abby Shafer for a wide-open layup to give Grace an early overtime lead.
The Lancers led by as many as four points in the overtime session before Marian finally found an offensive groove.
The Knights struggled the entire second half as they connected on just eight field goals and finished the game shooting 37 percent from the field.
Marian used its physical play and rebounding to stay ahead. The Knights, who boast a roster full of physical players, held a 47-37 rebounding edge over the Lancers.
While Marian struggled from the field, they did score 21 second-chance points to stay ahead of Grace.
Frame found her stroke in overtime after a poor-shooting game to score nine points and finish with a game-high 24 points on 8-of-21 shooting.
Freshman Jessica Carr proved valuable off the bench as she scored 13 points and pulled down six rebounds.
Marian saw a lot of production off the bench as Kassie Koselke and Mandy Kot came up with 11 and 10 points respectively. The Knights held a 44 to 6 points off the bench advantage.
Grace played just eight players with Shafer, a 2004 Tippecanoe Valley graduate, playing all 45 minutes due to the loss of back-up point guard senior Grace Roley.
Riffell led the Lancers in scoring with 18 points while grabbing seven rebounds.
Freshman Lauren Zeltwanger finished with 11 points and was clutch down the stretch for the Lancers.
"(Lauren) Zeltwanger was tough for us tonight," said Blum. "She's not going to back down from anyone and isn't afraid to take a big shot."
Grace falls to 4-12 on the season and 0-6 in the MCC. The Lady Lancers will play another top 25 team Saturday, traveling to No. 9 St. Francis for a 1 p.m. match-up.
NO. 21 MARIAN 76, GRACE 71
Marian 36 24 16 - 76
Grace 26 34 11 - 71
Marian FG FT R S Pts.
*Linn 0-1 0-0 2 0 0
*Kenney 1-4 2-5 5 3 4
*Frame 8-21 6-7 7 5 24
*Pilarski 2-9 0-4 2 3 4
*Menguzzi 0-2 0-0 0 0 0
Manley 1-2 0-0 0 0 2
Kot 1-2 8-10 10 0 10
Carr 6-11 1-2 6 1 13
Moore 0-1 0-0 0 0 0
Harris 4-11 0-0 7 1 8
Koselke 3-6 4-4 1 0 11
Totals 26-70 21-32 40 13 76
Grace FG FT R S Pts.
*Shafer 1-8 6-10 5 2 8
*Hilliker 4-10 2-2 1 0 12
*Zeltwanger 4-7 2-4 4 0 11
*Downing 5-8 6-8 7 0 16
*Riffell 5-8 8-9 7 1 18
Kister 0-4 2-3 4 0 2
Januseski 1-3 2-4 3 1 4
Clark 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 20-48 28-40 31 4 71
Three-point goals - Marian 3-12 (Frame 2-3, Koselke 1-2), Grace 3-13 (Hilliker 2-5, Zeltwanger 1-3). Turnovers - Marian 18, Grace 23. Fouls Marian 30, Grace 21. Fouled out - Pilarski. [[In-content Ad]]
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WINONA LAKE - The Grace College women's basketball team didn't look like a 4-11 squad Wednesday night against NAIA No. 21 Marian.
Bad bounces, missed opportunities and free throws proved to be too much for the Lancers as they fell to Marian 76-71 in a Mid-Central Conference overtime thriller.
Grace overcame a 10-point halftime deficit to take the lead at 58-57 with 36.9 seconds left in regulation.
Whitney Frame converted an old-fashioned three-point play for the Knights to put Marian up by a basket at 60-58.
The Lancers responded as they drove down the court, worked the ball around the perimeter before finding sophomore Amanda Downing open underneath the basket. Downing drew a foul, and with Grace already in the double bonus, went to the charity stripe with 7.1 seconds left.
Downing nailed both free throws with the second bouncing around the rim a few times before dropping.
Grace put some full-court pressure on the Knights as they inbounded the ball. The pressure worked as the Knights failed to get off a shot before the final buzzer sounded.
The overtime session tipped off in a strange way as Grace controlled the jump ball.
Senior center Amber Riffell tipped the ball to Downing who dribbled toward the east end of the Lancer gym. As the rest of the Lancer and Knights squads drifted toward Downing, Grace head coach Scott Blum realized the Lancers were going towards the west end of the gym.
Downing then found a streaking Abby Shafer for a wide-open layup to give Grace an early overtime lead.
The Lancers led by as many as four points in the overtime session before Marian finally found an offensive groove.
The Knights struggled the entire second half as they connected on just eight field goals and finished the game shooting 37 percent from the field.
Marian used its physical play and rebounding to stay ahead. The Knights, who boast a roster full of physical players, held a 47-37 rebounding edge over the Lancers.
While Marian struggled from the field, they did score 21 second-chance points to stay ahead of Grace.
Frame found her stroke in overtime after a poor-shooting game to score nine points and finish with a game-high 24 points on 8-of-21 shooting.
Freshman Jessica Carr proved valuable off the bench as she scored 13 points and pulled down six rebounds.
Marian saw a lot of production off the bench as Kassie Koselke and Mandy Kot came up with 11 and 10 points respectively. The Knights held a 44 to 6 points off the bench advantage.
Grace played just eight players with Shafer, a 2004 Tippecanoe Valley graduate, playing all 45 minutes due to the loss of back-up point guard senior Grace Roley.
Riffell led the Lancers in scoring with 18 points while grabbing seven rebounds.
Freshman Lauren Zeltwanger finished with 11 points and was clutch down the stretch for the Lancers.
"(Lauren) Zeltwanger was tough for us tonight," said Blum. "She's not going to back down from anyone and isn't afraid to take a big shot."
Grace falls to 4-12 on the season and 0-6 in the MCC. The Lady Lancers will play another top 25 team Saturday, traveling to No. 9 St. Francis for a 1 p.m. match-up.
NO. 21 MARIAN 76, GRACE 71
Marian 36 24 16 - 76
Grace 26 34 11 - 71
Marian FG FT R S Pts.
*Linn 0-1 0-0 2 0 0
*Kenney 1-4 2-5 5 3 4
*Frame 8-21 6-7 7 5 24
*Pilarski 2-9 0-4 2 3 4
*Menguzzi 0-2 0-0 0 0 0
Manley 1-2 0-0 0 0 2
Kot 1-2 8-10 10 0 10
Carr 6-11 1-2 6 1 13
Moore 0-1 0-0 0 0 0
Harris 4-11 0-0 7 1 8
Koselke 3-6 4-4 1 0 11
Totals 26-70 21-32 40 13 76
Grace FG FT R S Pts.
*Shafer 1-8 6-10 5 2 8
*Hilliker 4-10 2-2 1 0 12
*Zeltwanger 4-7 2-4 4 0 11
*Downing 5-8 6-8 7 0 16
*Riffell 5-8 8-9 7 1 18
Kister 0-4 2-3 4 0 2
Januseski 1-3 2-4 3 1 4
Clark 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 20-48 28-40 31 4 71
Three-point goals - Marian 3-12 (Frame 2-3, Koselke 1-2), Grace 3-13 (Hilliker 2-5, Zeltwanger 1-3). Turnovers - Marian 18, Grace 23. Fouls Marian 30, Grace 21. Fouled out - Pilarski. [[In-content Ad]]