FORT WAYNE – Grace College’s women’s basketball team was unable to complete the season sweep of the defending national champions, losing at No. 9 St. Francis 82-49 on Saturday. The Lady Lancers (13-13, 6-8 Crossroads League) had their third-lowest scoring output of the season while giving up the third-most points in a single game this year. Grace suffered major scoring droughts in each half, faltering against the Cougars’ defensive efforts. Grace started the game well offensively, scoring on three of its first four possessions, but the Cougars flipped the game early with a 19-1 run that turned a five-point deficit into a 13-point lead at 24-11. Grace went 6:18 between made field goals. The Lady Lancers battled back to within nine, but the Cougars (19-7, 10-4 CL) pulled away for a 40-27 lead at the half. USF shot 58 percent from the floor in the first half, compared to 32 percent for Grace. The second half came and went without Grace putting together a significant charge at the Cougars’ lead. USF never led by less than 13 points in the second half and built up a 20-point lead for most of the final 20 minutes. Grace struggled to find a solution to the Cougars’ zone defense throughout the second half, scoring just 22 over the final 20 minutes of play. The Lady Lancers did not make another field goal after Gabby Bryant’s shot with 8:32 remaining in the game. Grace mustered two free throws offensively over the final eight minutes, allowing USF to end the game on an 18-2 run. In the second half, Grace missed all 10 of its three-point attempts. Grace finished the game shooting 6.2 percent (1-of-16) from beyond the arc. Conversely, USF excelled by making 54 percent of its shots for the game as well as an 83 percent clip from the free throw line. The Cougars enjoyed a 47-29 advantage in rebounds, scoring 40 points in the paint and 19 second-chance points. Allison Kauffman registered a team-high 16 points and four rebounds for Grace, and Micah Pollard added 11 points. Bryant scored eight points with four boards, Kelsie Peterson tallied four points and four rebounds, and Jesse Feitz pulled down three rebounds off the bench. Akyah Taylor led USF with 22 points, while Zhanna Chukhrii chipped in with 18 points and six boards and Brooke Ridley finished with 14 points and nine rebounds. The Lady Lancers continue this week at the red-hot Marian Knights on Wednesday at 7 p.m. The seventh-ranked Knights have won six straight games.
