Lady Lancers Win Homecoming Game
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
WINONA LAKE - The Grace College Lady Lancers defined the meaning of a homecoming game with a 72-48 win over Concordia (Ann Arbor, MI) in basketball action Saturday afternoon.
Alumni and fans alike returned to Lancer Gym to watch a sharp-shooting Grace team nearly run the Cardinals off the court in the first 20 minutes.
It was the tale of two halves for the Lancers and the main character in the first was Amber Riffell.
The 6-foot forward/center led a hot-shooting Grace team with a team-high 19 points; all scored in the first half.
Concordia came out of the blocks sluggish and paid dearly as Theresa Clark's three-point play with 17:15 left in the opening half put Grace up 8-0.
The Cardinals finally lit up the scoreboard at the 15:19 mark, but their role as foil was already written.
On the end of the court, the Lancers didn't miss their first shot until the 12:37 mark.
Grace's Laura Kister gave a second half preview when she rebounded an Abby Shafer miss, missed then recovered her own miss, and converted on a three-point play after being fouled.
Kister took over the role Riffell had played in the first half and paced the Lancers in the final 20 minutes and with 18 points and a team-high nine rebounds.
The Lancers ended the first half with a 39-25 lead and never looked back. Grace shot 55 percent from the field in the first half with many shots coming inside 15 feet. Grace's lone trouble came from the free throw line, hitting just 15 of 22 for the game.
Besides Kister, the Lancers were paced in the second half by Clark. Clark was 7 of 14 from field for 16 points.
Clark, Kister and Grace Roley (eight points) all finished the game with career-highs in points.
Shafer, a 2003 Valley grad, finished with two points, three rebounds and three assists.
For first-year head coach Scott Blum, the Lancers creating the optimal shot on a given possession is what he wants to see his team do all year.
"For us to win games this year, we have to play team offense. We've been stressing to make one more pass and get a great shot rather than a good shot," said Blum. "They've worked all week and it paid off. We put a lot of points on the board."
Grace's 72 points was it's highest point total since a December 13th, 2003 win over Rochester 75-65.
The Lancers (2-0) host Rochester Wednesday in the Lancer Gym at 7 p.m. and look for their first 3-0 start since the '98-99 campaign.
GRACE 72, CONCORDIA 48
Concordia 25 23 - 48
Grace 39 33 - 72
Concordia - Hull 4-6 2-2 10, Russell 0-1 0-0 0, Schwelger 2-10 2-2 6, Patson 0-1 0-0 0, Tagai 3-8 0-0 6, Topping 2-7 1-2 5, Lahrman 1-2 0-1 2, Gerstenberger 5-12 6-8 19, Schultz 0-6 0-0 0. Totals 17-54 11-15 48.
Grace - Shafer 1-6 0-0 2, Clark 7-14 2-2 16, Weller 1-3 0-0 3, Calabrese 2-5 1-2 5, Helmuth 0-1 1-2 1, Stamper 0-1 0-0 0, Roley 2-2 4-4 8, Kister 6-10 6-9 18, Riffell 9-12 1-3 19. Totals 28-54 15-22 72.
Three-point goals - Concordia 3 (Gerstenberger 3), Grace 1 (Weller 1). Rebounds - Concordia (Gerstenberger 6), Grace 41 (Kister 9). Turnovers - Concordia 25, Grace 21 [[In-content Ad]]
WINONA LAKE - The Grace College Lady Lancers defined the meaning of a homecoming game with a 72-48 win over Concordia (Ann Arbor, MI) in basketball action Saturday afternoon.
Alumni and fans alike returned to Lancer Gym to watch a sharp-shooting Grace team nearly run the Cardinals off the court in the first 20 minutes.
It was the tale of two halves for the Lancers and the main character in the first was Amber Riffell.
The 6-foot forward/center led a hot-shooting Grace team with a team-high 19 points; all scored in the first half.
Concordia came out of the blocks sluggish and paid dearly as Theresa Clark's three-point play with 17:15 left in the opening half put Grace up 8-0.
The Cardinals finally lit up the scoreboard at the 15:19 mark, but their role as foil was already written.
On the end of the court, the Lancers didn't miss their first shot until the 12:37 mark.
Grace's Laura Kister gave a second half preview when she rebounded an Abby Shafer miss, missed then recovered her own miss, and converted on a three-point play after being fouled.
Kister took over the role Riffell had played in the first half and paced the Lancers in the final 20 minutes and with 18 points and a team-high nine rebounds.
The Lancers ended the first half with a 39-25 lead and never looked back. Grace shot 55 percent from the field in the first half with many shots coming inside 15 feet. Grace's lone trouble came from the free throw line, hitting just 15 of 22 for the game.
Besides Kister, the Lancers were paced in the second half by Clark. Clark was 7 of 14 from field for 16 points.
Clark, Kister and Grace Roley (eight points) all finished the game with career-highs in points.
Shafer, a 2003 Valley grad, finished with two points, three rebounds and three assists.
For first-year head coach Scott Blum, the Lancers creating the optimal shot on a given possession is what he wants to see his team do all year.
"For us to win games this year, we have to play team offense. We've been stressing to make one more pass and get a great shot rather than a good shot," said Blum. "They've worked all week and it paid off. We put a lot of points on the board."
Grace's 72 points was it's highest point total since a December 13th, 2003 win over Rochester 75-65.
The Lancers (2-0) host Rochester Wednesday in the Lancer Gym at 7 p.m. and look for their first 3-0 start since the '98-99 campaign.
GRACE 72, CONCORDIA 48
Concordia 25 23 - 48
Grace 39 33 - 72
Concordia - Hull 4-6 2-2 10, Russell 0-1 0-0 0, Schwelger 2-10 2-2 6, Patson 0-1 0-0 0, Tagai 3-8 0-0 6, Topping 2-7 1-2 5, Lahrman 1-2 0-1 2, Gerstenberger 5-12 6-8 19, Schultz 0-6 0-0 0. Totals 17-54 11-15 48.
Grace - Shafer 1-6 0-0 2, Clark 7-14 2-2 16, Weller 1-3 0-0 3, Calabrese 2-5 1-2 5, Helmuth 0-1 1-2 1, Stamper 0-1 0-0 0, Roley 2-2 4-4 8, Kister 6-10 6-9 18, Riffell 9-12 1-3 19. Totals 28-54 15-22 72.
Three-point goals - Concordia 3 (Gerstenberger 3), Grace 1 (Weller 1). Rebounds - Concordia (Gerstenberger 6), Grace 41 (Kister 9). Turnovers - Concordia 25, Grace 21 [[In-content Ad]]