Lady Lancers Win Tournament Opener
February 21, 2018 at 4:32 p.m.
Lady Lancers Win Tournament Opener
By Josh Neuhart-
The Lady Lancers (17-14) used a dynamic second half to eliminate the Foresters (16-14) from the Crossroads League Tournament.
Grace scored 48 points after halftime thanks to shooting 68 percent from the floor and 86 percent from the free throw line.
Brooke Sugg led all players with 23 points, burying four three-pointers in a strong performance.
The Lady Lancers advanced to the tournament semifinals on Friday at 7 p.m. Grace will take on regular season champion Marian in Indianapolis. The tournament championship is Monday, with the winner to receive an automatic bid to the NAIA National Championships.
Taylor University will play at Indiana Wesleyan Friday in the other semifinal game.
The first half of Tuesday’s game at the Manahan Orthopaedic Capital center was action-packed, and emotions ran high as each team tried to get an early advantage.
Grace’s Lexi Minix was aggressive on offense in the first quarter, scoring five points. But Huntington buried a trio of three-pointers in the quarter and held a 17-13 lead after 10 minutes.
The Foresters maintained their slight lead and led by eight with 3:37 remaining in the first half. But Grace’s defense locked down Huntington and held the visitors scoreless the remainder of the half.
Kaylie Warble scored on back-to-back possessions, Vironnica Drake hit a baseline jumper, and Sugg’s three-pointer tied the score and the teams entered the halftime locker room knotted 27-27.
Grace’s momentum continued into the third quarter. The Lady Lancers shot 71 percent from the floor, doubling their output with another 27 points in the 10-minute period.
The Lady Lancers opened the quarter with an 11-3 run, capped off by a deep trey from Sugg to make the score 38-30.
Grace continued to score in bunches and eventually pulled ahead 52-41 after another triple by Sugg with 2:36 remaining in the third quarter.
Huntington refused to let Grace run away with the game, however. The Foresters clawed back into the game thanks to a tenacious fullcourt defense.
Grace turned the ball over on five straight possessions in the fourth quarter. As a result, Huntington sliced the Lady Lancers’ lead down to four at 60-56 with 5:22 left in the game.
Pam Miller stopped Huntington’s spree with a pair of free throws, and Drake added two more foul shots to establish an eight-point cushion.
Huntington was forced to foul to extend the game, and Grace made the Foresters pay. The Lady Lancers made nine free throws over the final 95 seconds of the contest to seal the win.
Drake poured in 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, and Micaela Box tallied 10 points, four assists and four boards in the win.
Minix scored nine points, Miller had five points, seven boards and two assists, and Warble chipped in eight points in 14 minutes.
Grace shot 47 percent from the floor compared to 37 percent for Huntington. Grace did turn the ball over 19 times, but owned a plus-11 advantage in rebounds.
Sarah Fryman led Huntington with 14 points, while teammates Maddie Richer and Brooke Saylor also scored in double figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Huntington’s 65 points came on balanced scoring, as Sam Hammel tallied nine points, Hailey Krewald eight and Casey Morton seven.
In Friday’s game at Marian, the Lady Lancers will try and stop the Knights’ 17-game win streak.
Marian beat Grace 69-60 in Indianapolis on Jan. 10, and then completed the regular season sweep of the Lady Lancers with a 76-51 win at Grace on Feb. 7.
Latest News
E-Editions
The Lady Lancers (17-14) used a dynamic second half to eliminate the Foresters (16-14) from the Crossroads League Tournament.
Grace scored 48 points after halftime thanks to shooting 68 percent from the floor and 86 percent from the free throw line.
Brooke Sugg led all players with 23 points, burying four three-pointers in a strong performance.
The Lady Lancers advanced to the tournament semifinals on Friday at 7 p.m. Grace will take on regular season champion Marian in Indianapolis. The tournament championship is Monday, with the winner to receive an automatic bid to the NAIA National Championships.
Taylor University will play at Indiana Wesleyan Friday in the other semifinal game.
The first half of Tuesday’s game at the Manahan Orthopaedic Capital center was action-packed, and emotions ran high as each team tried to get an early advantage.
Grace’s Lexi Minix was aggressive on offense in the first quarter, scoring five points. But Huntington buried a trio of three-pointers in the quarter and held a 17-13 lead after 10 minutes.
The Foresters maintained their slight lead and led by eight with 3:37 remaining in the first half. But Grace’s defense locked down Huntington and held the visitors scoreless the remainder of the half.
Kaylie Warble scored on back-to-back possessions, Vironnica Drake hit a baseline jumper, and Sugg’s three-pointer tied the score and the teams entered the halftime locker room knotted 27-27.
Grace’s momentum continued into the third quarter. The Lady Lancers shot 71 percent from the floor, doubling their output with another 27 points in the 10-minute period.
The Lady Lancers opened the quarter with an 11-3 run, capped off by a deep trey from Sugg to make the score 38-30.
Grace continued to score in bunches and eventually pulled ahead 52-41 after another triple by Sugg with 2:36 remaining in the third quarter.
Huntington refused to let Grace run away with the game, however. The Foresters clawed back into the game thanks to a tenacious fullcourt defense.
Grace turned the ball over on five straight possessions in the fourth quarter. As a result, Huntington sliced the Lady Lancers’ lead down to four at 60-56 with 5:22 left in the game.
Pam Miller stopped Huntington’s spree with a pair of free throws, and Drake added two more foul shots to establish an eight-point cushion.
Huntington was forced to foul to extend the game, and Grace made the Foresters pay. The Lady Lancers made nine free throws over the final 95 seconds of the contest to seal the win.
Drake poured in 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, and Micaela Box tallied 10 points, four assists and four boards in the win.
Minix scored nine points, Miller had five points, seven boards and two assists, and Warble chipped in eight points in 14 minutes.
Grace shot 47 percent from the floor compared to 37 percent for Huntington. Grace did turn the ball over 19 times, but owned a plus-11 advantage in rebounds.
Sarah Fryman led Huntington with 14 points, while teammates Maddie Richer and Brooke Saylor also scored in double figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Huntington’s 65 points came on balanced scoring, as Sam Hammel tallied nine points, Hailey Krewald eight and Casey Morton seven.
In Friday’s game at Marian, the Lady Lancers will try and stop the Knights’ 17-game win streak.
Marian beat Grace 69-60 in Indianapolis on Jan. 10, and then completed the regular season sweep of the Lady Lancers with a 76-51 win at Grace on Feb. 7.
Have a news tip? Email [email protected] or Call/Text 360-922-3092