MOUNT VERNON, Ohio - Grace College’s women’s basketball team improved their winning streak to five games after a suffocating defensive effort lifted the Lancers to a 50-41 win over Mt. Vernon on Saturday afternoon.
The Lancers’ (10-8, 5-3 Crossroads League) defense imposed its will throughout the match, holding the Cougars to just 29 percent shooting from the floor and limiting them to single digit points in the second and third quarters.
This is the fifth time this season that Grace has limited an opponent under 50 points and the sixth time that they have held an opponent to their season low in scoring.
The beginning of the contest looked promising for Mt. Vernon (7-12, 1-8 CL) as the Cougars rattled off 10 of the game's first 12 points.
Peyton Murphy was the only scorer for Grace through the first six minutes of action as Mt. Vernon had built a 13-4 advantage by the midpoint of the opening quarter.
A pair of scores from paint for Kaylee Patton and Kate Rulli got Grace back within striking distance and at the quarter break the Lancers trailed 17-12.
The second quarter started with a shot from range as Murphy converted the Lancers’ first 3-point bucket of the game.
Another trifecta, this time from Maddie Ryman, was sandwiched by a pair of scores from the Cougars. Those four points proved to be only points that the Cougars would score in the second stanza.
The middle portion of the second quarter saw both teams commit a plethora of turnovers. Grace and Mt. Vernon combined for 13 turnovers in the quarter.
With 3:30 remaining in the half the Lancers inched ahead for their first lead since the score was 2-0 thanks to a driving layup from Ryman. Ryman added two more points from the charity stripe late in the quarter which gave Grace a 24-21 lead entering the intermission.
After two scoreless minutes to start the second half, the Cougars converted a shot behind the arc to tie the game at 24.
Mt. Vernon’s offense was again frustrated by the relentless pressure of Grace’s defense as they were held to just two made field goals for the second consecutive quarter.
Molly Long had a corner three late in the quarter which highlighted a 12-2 run from the Lancers to push their lead to double digits.
Patton and Long each had a score early in the final frame for the Lancers, but the Cougars found an offensive spark and cut the lead down to two possessions.
Morganne Houk then went on a solo 5-0 run with an acrobatic layup and a trifecta which seemed to break the will of the Cougars.
After Mt. Vernon had cut the lead to five points, the Cougars were held to just four points over the final 5:36 of action as the Lancers picked up the 50-41 win.
“It's always a good day when you can walk away with a road win in the league,” said Grace head coach Dan Davis. “Really proud of how the ladies played today, especially late in the game. I thought we played well with the lead and when Mt. Vernon made a run in the fourth quarter, we called some plays during a timeout and then were able to execute them on the floor.”
The Lancers shot 39 percent from the floor and connected on five 3-pointers, while the Cougars shot 29 percent and matched Grace with five trifectas.
Ryman led all players with 18 points and also grabbed nine rebounds. Murphy had another full stat sheet with 12 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists.
Grace will return to action on Wednesday for a road match against Bethel.

Lancers Improve To 18-0 With Road Win
MOUNT VERNON, Ohio - The NAIA top-ranked Grace men’s basketball team secured a 98-79 win at Mt. Vernon Nazarene on Saturday.
The Lancers (18-0, 8-0 Crossroads League) were dominant offensively in the win, shooting 62 percent from the floor as a team.
Grace’s balanced box score showed seven players with at least eight points and no player seeing more than 25 minutes of court time.
Jakob Gibbs had scoring honors on the night with 18 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal.
The Lancers are enjoying their best start to a year in team history. Grace sits alone atop the conference, winning the team’s games by an average of 26.3 points per game.
Grace has won 31 of its past 32 games over the past two seasons under head coach Scott Moore.
Grace began the game on a sharp note. Brycen Graber buried a 3-pointer on the first play, and Jake Wadding scored two layups in short succession.
The Lancers scored the first eight points of the game, aided by two forced turnovers.
Grace pushed its early advantage to 16-5 thanks to a series of fastbreak scores.
The Cougars (13-6, 3-6 CL) did their part to keep the score close, hitting a trio of 3-pointers in the first seven minutes.
As the half progressed, however, the Lancers began to punish MVNU in the paint with a variety of post touches. Wadding (12 points), Elijah Malone (8 points) and Ian Scott (4 points) combined to shoot 11 of 13 before halftime, totaling 24 points between the trio of post players.
The Cougars managed to pull within 10 at 41-31, but Grace responded with layups from Ian Raasch and Wadding to increase the visitors’ lead.
A late triple from Jakob Gibbs handed Grace a commanding 54-39 lead as the game reached halftime.
Grace shot a sizzling 77 percent from the floor in the half, outrebounding MVNU 19-9 as well. MVNU shot well from beyond the arc (48 percent), but they struggled to contain Grace’s high-powered attack.
Jakob Gibbs muscled his way to an and-1 to begin Grace’s scoring in the second half. Two more free throws from him, coupled with a breakaway layup from Cade Gibbs, provided the Lancers with their largest lead of the contest at 62-45.
MVNU made its largest rally in response, pulling to within nine at 65-56.
Cade Gibbs put an end to that run with a 3-pointer, Malone added two free throws, and Brett Sickafoose canned a timely 3-pointer.
Grace’s relentless defense limited the Cougars’ chances to rally again. The Lancers forced MVNU into several empty possessions, allowing Grace to race down the court and score.
Grace eventually increased its cushion to 23 (91-68) with four minutes remaining, and the Lancers eased to the final buzzer to collect their 18th straight win.
Seven players for Grace finished the game shooting 50 percent or better. The Cougars were held to 39 percent shooting after halftime, including 3 of 18 (17 percent) from beyond the 3-point line.
Grace outrebounded MVNU by 27 and had a 23-15 edge in assists as well.
Wadding finished with 16 points, 6 boards and 2 assists, Malone had 15 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 block, and Cade Gibbs added 14 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists.
Gage Sefton produced nine points with four rebounds, and Sickafoose scored eight points with three assists.
Graber tallied 8 points, 3 assists, 3 boards and 1 steal, and Ian Scott finished with 4 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 block and 1 steal. Raasch chipped in four points, and Carter Stoltzfus had 2 points, 4 rebounds and 1 steal.
The Lancers will remain on the road on Wednesday, traveling to rival No. 23 Bethel.