WINONA LAKE – For Grace College’s women’s basketball team, the NCCAA National Championships tipped off with a wild quarterfinal matchup with third-seeded Bethesda on Wednesday. The third-seeded Flames’ blistering pace unraveled the Lady No. 6 seed Lancers as Grace lost 87-82 at the Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center. Grace struggled to adjust to Bethesda’s frenetic pace in the first half. The Flames’ run-and-gun style of play produced an incredible 32 shots from the three-point line in the first 20 minutes of action. Grace’s defense, however, held Bethesda to just 16 percent shooting from the arc in the first half. Bethesda’s fullcourt trapping defense was equally disruptive. Grace committed 16 turnovers before halftime to hamper its cause. Offensively, Grace was adept at getting to the foul line. The Lady Lancers (17-16) took 18 free throws in the first half and made 16 (89 percent). Allison Kauffman had nearly half of Grace’s points with 16 in the first 20 minutes. The Flames (12-17) pulled out to a 10-point margin after four minutes of play in the second half at 50-40, but the Lady Lancers clawed back into contention. Grace ripped off 14 points in a four-minute span to chop Bethesda’s lead down to two. Grace was unable to wrestle away the lead from Bethesda as the Flames’ three-point shots began to fall. Bethesda re-established a double-digit lead with 6:16 to play. Bethesda led by as many as 15 points with just over two minutes remaining before Grace went on a valiant comeback attempt. The Lady Lancers outscored the Flames 14-4 over the last two minutes, but it was not enough to send Grace into the national semifinals. Grace shot 14 treys in the game and made none. The Lady Lancers connected on 37 percent of their field goals compared to 32 percent for the Flames. Bethesda forced Grace into 22 turnovers, scoring 20 points off those miscues. Kauffman notched 21 points and 10 rebounds for the Lady Lancers, and Sarah Feasby added another double-double with 14 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Gabby Bryant had nine points and five rebounds, and JoEllen Fickel, Micah Pollard and Heather House each tallied eight points. Charmaine Nelson led Bethesda with 17 points, while Lisette Longomo scored 16 points and Jessica Bautista chipped in with 12. The chaotic contest saw a combined 36 turnovers, 64 three-point shots and 34 offensive rebounds. Bethesda fired up 50 treys and had 90 field goal attempts on their own. The two teams combined to shoot 82 free throws. The Lady Lancers fall into the consolation bracket of the tournament, starting with a game against Southern Wesleyan today at 1:45 p.m. The Grace/SWU contest will be a rematch of last season’s seventh-place game, which the Warriors won in the final seconds. Grace will conclude its season on Friday in either the fifth or seventh-place game. In other women’s games: LEE UNIVERSITY 75, S’WESTERN ASSEMBLIES OF GOD 52 After building a 17-point lead in the first half, top-seeded Lee University cruised to a 75-52 win over No. 8 seed SAGU. Kayla Beavers led Lee with a game-high 23 points, while Erin Walsh added 16 and Carrie Cheeks and Shelby Brown chipped in with 10 each. Laken Ward led SAGU with 15 points, while Kassy Cox scored 12 points. Lee held a 44-30 advantage on the boards. EMMANUEL COLLEGE 45, UNIV. OF NORTHWESTERN 39 In the lowest scoring game in the women’s bracket, fourth-seeded Emmanuel held off No. 5 seed Northwestern 45-39. The teams were tied at 17-17 at halftime. Emmanuel won the game despite making just 17 of 59 shots from the field, including a 4-of-29 effort from the arc. Northwestern finished the game 15 of 54 from the field overall and 3 of 18 from three-point range. Mikayla Trombley scored 16 points for Emmanuel, while teammate Elise Coberly chipped in with 15. Jacki Smith led Northwestern with 16 points and six rebounds. SOUTHWESTERN CHRISTIAN 68, SOUTHERN WESLEYAN 66 In the final game of the day, second-seeded Southwestern Christian beat No. 7 seed Southern Wesleyan 68-66. Three players scored in double figures for Southwestern, Grace Hadley (20), Andi McGill (14) and Kim Hayes (12). Chelsie Waters led Southern Wesleyan with a game-high 26 points and eight assists, while Brooke Strickland chipped in with 14 points. Southern Wesleyan held a 37-35 advantage at halftime. The teams were a combined 23 of 69 from the arc.
