WINONA LAKE – Defense, said Grace College women’s basketball coach Scott Blum, is 80 percent heart and 20 percent technique. The third-ranked Indiana Wesleyan Lady Wildcats displayed plenty of heart and technique Wednesday evening. And as a result of its suffocating defense, Indiana Wesleyan left the Orthopaedic Capital Center with a 68-40 win over the host Lady Lancers. “They’re good,” Blum said of the Lady Wildcats, who improved to 8-0 overall and 2-0 in Crossroads League action. “They were more physical. They were the aggressors. We haven’t played anyone, other than IUPUI and they’re Division I, with that kind of intensity. They (Indiana Wesleyan) play like that every night for 40 minutes.” The Lady Lancers, who fell to 7-2 overall and 1-1 in league play, kept things close early, but Indiana Wesleyan was able to pull away down the stretch in the first half, and then domianted the second half. The Lady Wildcats led just 20-18 late in the opening half, but went on a 13-1 run and held a 33-19 advantage at halftime. Indiana Wesleyan led by as many as 32 points, 66-34, in the second half. “They pushed the lead at the end of the half and that kind of deflated us,” said Blum. “We knew it would be a battle, and that we had to match their intensity. We didn’t do that tonight.” Indiana Wesleyan shot 46 percent from the field in the 28-point win, while Grace made just 27 percent of its attempts. The Lady Wildcats’ duo of Katrina Blackmon and Paige Smith was 12 of 22 from the field and 9 of 13 en route to a combined 34 points. Grace as a team, was 13 of 48 from the field and 12 of 18 at the charity stripe. “We keyed on No. 41 (Smith) and Blackmon hurt us, especially in the first half,” said Blum. “That’s why they’re No. 3 in the country. They have people that step up.” Blackmon, the niece of former Kentucky Wildcats star James Blackmon Sr., scored a game-high 19 points Wednesday. The Wright State transfer had 15 points at halftime, just four less than the Lady Lancers. Smith finished with 15 points and nine rebounds, while Teneil Krebs added eight points and Claire Ray chipped in with seven. Former Wawasee High School standout Taylor Goshert had a well-rounded performance for Indiana Wesleyan. She finished with five points, eight rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals. Warsaw grad Sarah Heagy scored two points and pulled down a rebound for the Lady Wildcats. The Lady Lancers were led by the nine points and five rebounds of Juaneice Jackson. Emily Bidwell, a Whitko grad, scored seven points and pulled down four boards for Grace. “We’ll be alright,” said Blum. “We just need to pick it up in practice and work on our intensity.” Grace plays at league foe Huntington University Saturday. The Lady Lancers won’t play at the OCC again until Dec. 17.
