WINONA LAKE – Grace’s women’s basketball team won its second straight Mid-Central College Conference game with a dominant 73-54 victory over Goshen College on Saturday.
The Lady Lancers (16-10; 8-6 MCC) used a plus-8 advantage on the boards and nabbed 13 steals on the day to sweep the season series with the Maple Leafs (3-23; 0-14 MCC).
Grace took control early by jumping ahead 16-4 in the game’s first five minutes, fueled by a pair of fastbreak layups.
The Lady Lancers held a double-digit lead for most of the half and featured a balanced attack as nine different players scored and 11 players overall saw the court.
Grace was able to get quality shot attempts and scored 20 of their 42 first-half points in the paint. They nailed 51.4 percent of their shot attempts (18-of-35) compared to 42.9 percent for the Maple Leafs.
Goshen caught a break at the conclusion of the half when Kari Heusinkveld swished a halfcourt 3-pointer at the buzzer, but the Lady Lancers went into the locker room up, 42-29.
Kiera Gray propelled the Lady Lancers further ahead to start the second half. She scored 10 points in the first five minutes of the half as Grace went on a 14-2 run out of the locker room.
The Lady Lancers pushed their lead up to 28 at 69-41 before the Maple Leafs brought the margin back down to 73-54 for the final score.
Gray led all scorers with 20 points. She also had a game-high four steals and added two assists.
Hayley Cashier recorded 14 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists, and Juaneice Jackson added 8 points, 3 assists and 3 steals off the bench.
Allison Kauffman finished with five points and seven boards in 13 minutes of action, and Hannah Lengel chipped in with nine points on a 3-of-3 performance from beyond the arc.
Overall, Grace was able to record an assist on 15 of their 30 made field goals, helping them to shoot 46.2 percent from the field. Grace also pulled down 14 offensive rebounds which resulted in 15 second-chance points.
Fourteen players in all played at least five minutes for the Lady Lancers in the victory.
The Lady Lancers continue MCC action when they travel to Marian University on Wednesday for a 7 p.m. tipoff.
