Lady Lancers Win Season Opener
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Anthony [email protected]
"I saw them in a scrimmage the other night, and the thing is, it was going to be their speed and three-point shooting that would beat us or it was going to be our size and experience that was going to beat them," Grace coach Scott Blum said.[[In-content Ad]]As it was, the Lady Lancers' size and experience won out with a 75-70 comeback-victory over the visiting Lady Saints (0-1) at the Orthopaedic Capital Center Tuesday.
"For a first game, this could have easily been a loss," Blum said. "Everybody contributed to this victory. It was good to see adversity in the first game of the season and still be able to get a victory."
During introductions, Holy Cross' starting lineup featured four freshmen and a sophomore, but young teams are nothing new to coach Matt Hunsberger.
"We had a lot of freshmen last year, but we didn't have the right type of kids," Hunsberger said. "We rebuilt this year, and we have a more talented team. They play with heart, but what hurt us tonight was bench play. We need more out of our bench. Our starting five averaged over 30 minutes today. We can't do that."
That depth showed in the final 12 minutes of the game, when the Lady Saints led 46-38 with 11:32 remaining following three made free throws by freshman Megan Eve.
Eve went on to make three-pointers on Holy Cross' next two possessions, but Grace's offense wasn't to be outdone.
After Eve's initial made free throws on a three-point attempt, Grace got a four-point play from senior Autumn Heflin. Keeping pace with Eve's shooting, Grace junior Kiera Gray hit a field goal and junior Danielle Boykin converted two free throws to keep the Lancers within striking distance at 52-46 with 10:23 remaining.
Grace freshman Juaneice Jackson then showed she could connect from long range, hitting back-to-back three-pointers, and Gray gave the Lancers their first lead since early in the half with a trey with 7:17 to play.
"That was probably a lineup we haven't seen all year in our scrimmage games," Blum said. "Juaneice Jackson hit a couple big threes and Autumn (Heflin) made the four-pointer. That gave us a little life."
Grace never relinquished the lead the rest of the way, but that doesn't mean the home team was coasting.
In front 71-70 following a three-pointer by Holy Cross freshman Jillian DeLucia, Blum drew up an inbound play for Heflin, who shot 82.1 percent from the line last year. Instead, once the ball was inbounded, Heflin gave it up to junior Hayley Cashier, a 67.4 percent free-throw shooter.
"I had that set up for Autumn and she was wide open and no (defenders) came to her, but she threw it back," Blum said. "Autumn's probably our best free-throw shooter. That's why I called out to her, 'Autumn, the play was set up for you to shoot the free throws.' Fortunately, Hayley stepped up and made them."
Not only did Cashier make those two, she also made another two with 10 seconds remaining, sealing the game.
Perhaps Heflin gave up the ball because she already had a game-high 17 points off the bench and wanted to get someone else in on the action.
Whitko High School graduate Emily Bidwell scored 10 and grabbed eight rebounds in the post, but Blum was impressed with the play of Jackson, who had 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting with five assists in 20 minutes.
"She's probably going to have some big games for us," Blum said of Jackson. "It was nice that she had it tonight, because we needed her offense coming off the bench."
Hunsberger also has high expectations for a freshman, his being NorthWood High School graduate Lindsey Steffen. In her first collegiate game, Steffen scored 13 points on 6-of-22 shooting, hauling in nine rebounds in the process.
"I really believe Lindsey can be an all-conference player for us, and by the end of her four years, she can be an All-American," Hunsberger said. "It's up to her. She's a great kid, a hard worker and I believe 13 and nine is just the tip of the iceberg. I expect great things out of her.
Grace returns to the court Tuesday at Valparaiso University.
GRACE 75, HOLY CROSS 70
HC 30 40 - 70
G 28 47 - 75
Grace - Hayley Cashier 1-4 5-6 7, Emily Bidwell 3-7 4-4 10, Hannah Lengel 2-7 2-2 6, Morgan DiAntonio 2-3 4-5 8, Rianne Aguilar 1-2 0-0 2, Kiera Gray 2-8 2-2 7, Autumn Heflin 5-9 3-3 17, Juaneice Jackson 4-8 1-2 11, Kate Ball 1-4 0-1 3, Danielle Boykin 1-4 2-2 4. Totals 22-56 23-27 75.
HC - Lindsey Steffen 6-22 1-2 13, Megan Eve 2-8 7-7 13, Lauren Malinowski 4-10 6-6 14, Jillian DeLucia 4-11 0-1 9, Mary Fitzgerald 2-6 1-1 5, Mariah Salazar 0-0 0-0 0, Melissa Weston 2-3 0-0 4, Jalisa Edwards 2-7 2-2 7, Jacques Donaldson 1-1 0-0 3, Francesca McCarthy 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 24-70 17-19 70.
Three-point goals - Grace 8-20, HC 5-23; Team Fouls (fouled out) - Grace 17, HC 22 (Eve); Turnovers - Grace 21, HC 16; Rebounds - Grace 42 (Cashier 8, Bidwell 8), HC 37 (Steffen 9); Assists - Grace 15 (Jackson 5), HC 16 (DeLucia 6); Blocks - Grace 3, HC 0; Steals - Grace 7 (Heflin 3), HC 6 (Malinowski 6); Records: Grace 1-0, HC 0-1
"I saw them in a scrimmage the other night, and the thing is, it was going to be their speed and three-point shooting that would beat us or it was going to be our size and experience that was going to beat them," Grace coach Scott Blum said.[[In-content Ad]]As it was, the Lady Lancers' size and experience won out with a 75-70 comeback-victory over the visiting Lady Saints (0-1) at the Orthopaedic Capital Center Tuesday.
"For a first game, this could have easily been a loss," Blum said. "Everybody contributed to this victory. It was good to see adversity in the first game of the season and still be able to get a victory."
During introductions, Holy Cross' starting lineup featured four freshmen and a sophomore, but young teams are nothing new to coach Matt Hunsberger.
"We had a lot of freshmen last year, but we didn't have the right type of kids," Hunsberger said. "We rebuilt this year, and we have a more talented team. They play with heart, but what hurt us tonight was bench play. We need more out of our bench. Our starting five averaged over 30 minutes today. We can't do that."
That depth showed in the final 12 minutes of the game, when the Lady Saints led 46-38 with 11:32 remaining following three made free throws by freshman Megan Eve.
Eve went on to make three-pointers on Holy Cross' next two possessions, but Grace's offense wasn't to be outdone.
After Eve's initial made free throws on a three-point attempt, Grace got a four-point play from senior Autumn Heflin. Keeping pace with Eve's shooting, Grace junior Kiera Gray hit a field goal and junior Danielle Boykin converted two free throws to keep the Lancers within striking distance at 52-46 with 10:23 remaining.
Grace freshman Juaneice Jackson then showed she could connect from long range, hitting back-to-back three-pointers, and Gray gave the Lancers their first lead since early in the half with a trey with 7:17 to play.
"That was probably a lineup we haven't seen all year in our scrimmage games," Blum said. "Juaneice Jackson hit a couple big threes and Autumn (Heflin) made the four-pointer. That gave us a little life."
Grace never relinquished the lead the rest of the way, but that doesn't mean the home team was coasting.
In front 71-70 following a three-pointer by Holy Cross freshman Jillian DeLucia, Blum drew up an inbound play for Heflin, who shot 82.1 percent from the line last year. Instead, once the ball was inbounded, Heflin gave it up to junior Hayley Cashier, a 67.4 percent free-throw shooter.
"I had that set up for Autumn and she was wide open and no (defenders) came to her, but she threw it back," Blum said. "Autumn's probably our best free-throw shooter. That's why I called out to her, 'Autumn, the play was set up for you to shoot the free throws.' Fortunately, Hayley stepped up and made them."
Not only did Cashier make those two, she also made another two with 10 seconds remaining, sealing the game.
Perhaps Heflin gave up the ball because she already had a game-high 17 points off the bench and wanted to get someone else in on the action.
Whitko High School graduate Emily Bidwell scored 10 and grabbed eight rebounds in the post, but Blum was impressed with the play of Jackson, who had 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting with five assists in 20 minutes.
"She's probably going to have some big games for us," Blum said of Jackson. "It was nice that she had it tonight, because we needed her offense coming off the bench."
Hunsberger also has high expectations for a freshman, his being NorthWood High School graduate Lindsey Steffen. In her first collegiate game, Steffen scored 13 points on 6-of-22 shooting, hauling in nine rebounds in the process.
"I really believe Lindsey can be an all-conference player for us, and by the end of her four years, she can be an All-American," Hunsberger said. "It's up to her. She's a great kid, a hard worker and I believe 13 and nine is just the tip of the iceberg. I expect great things out of her.
Grace returns to the court Tuesday at Valparaiso University.
GRACE 75, HOLY CROSS 70
HC 30 40 - 70
G 28 47 - 75
Grace - Hayley Cashier 1-4 5-6 7, Emily Bidwell 3-7 4-4 10, Hannah Lengel 2-7 2-2 6, Morgan DiAntonio 2-3 4-5 8, Rianne Aguilar 1-2 0-0 2, Kiera Gray 2-8 2-2 7, Autumn Heflin 5-9 3-3 17, Juaneice Jackson 4-8 1-2 11, Kate Ball 1-4 0-1 3, Danielle Boykin 1-4 2-2 4. Totals 22-56 23-27 75.
HC - Lindsey Steffen 6-22 1-2 13, Megan Eve 2-8 7-7 13, Lauren Malinowski 4-10 6-6 14, Jillian DeLucia 4-11 0-1 9, Mary Fitzgerald 2-6 1-1 5, Mariah Salazar 0-0 0-0 0, Melissa Weston 2-3 0-0 4, Jalisa Edwards 2-7 2-2 7, Jacques Donaldson 1-1 0-0 3, Francesca McCarthy 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 24-70 17-19 70.
Three-point goals - Grace 8-20, HC 5-23; Team Fouls (fouled out) - Grace 17, HC 22 (Eve); Turnovers - Grace 21, HC 16; Rebounds - Grace 42 (Cashier 8, Bidwell 8), HC 37 (Steffen 9); Assists - Grace 15 (Jackson 5), HC 16 (DeLucia 6); Blocks - Grace 3, HC 0; Steals - Grace 7 (Heflin 3), HC 6 (Malinowski 6); Records: Grace 1-0, HC 0-1
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