WINONA LAKE – Grace College’s women’s basketball team had quite a one-two punch Wednesday. It wasn’t quite enough, however, as the eighth-seeded Lady Lancers fell 66-58 to the top-seeded Lee University Flames in the first round of the NCCAA National Championships at the Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center. Senior guard Juaneice Jackson, the the program’s all-time leading scorer, poured in a game-high 27 points, while junior frontliner Allison Kauffman added 20 points and eight rebounds. Freshman Chloe Pridge was Grace’s third-leading scorer Wednesday with four points. “That’s how it’s been all year, we’ve had a one-two punch,” said Grace College coach Scott Blum, whose team fell 17-16 on the season. “We needed that third punch. We’re young, that’s the exciting thing. We lose J.J., but hopefully next year we’ll have a one-two-three punch.” The Lady Lancers’ season isn’t over yet, as they are guaranteed to play three games in this week’s tournament. Grace tipped off at 8:30 a.m. today in the consolation bracket against No. 4 seed Oklahoma Christian and will play again Friday, with the time depending on the outcome of today’s game. Lee (23-4) advaned to today’s 3:30 p.m. game against No. 5 seed Roberts Wesleyan. “I’m proud of the girls,” said Blum, who was frustrated about some offensive calls that went against his team. “They gave themselves a chance to win.” Grace trailed the Flames just 29-28 at halftime and only 53-48 with 4:24 remaing in the game when Blum was whistled for a techical foul. Blum, who took his jacket off and was animated in looking for an explanation, was upset about an offensive foul call on Kauffman. Not only did the technical foul take away a made basket by Kauffman, it gave the Flames two free throws and the ball. Lee University senior Hollie German, the team’s leading scorer at 24 points per game, made both charity tosses and then scored on a layup that capped an 8-0 run. As Blum went on to say after the game, that sequence of events was a big momentum swing. “That was a big momentum change, the technical,” said Blum. “I thought the call took us out of our rhythm. It was a bad time to get a technical. I have to control my emotions. I apologized to the girls because I expect them to keep their cool and fight through it and I lost my cool.” Grace cut the deficit to six, 61-55, when Jackson hit a three-pointer with 1:37 remaining, but couldn’t get any closer down the stretch. The Lady Lancers finished the game just 17 of 45 from the field overall, 5 of 13 from the arc, and 19 of 27 from the charity stripe. The Flames were 21 of 64 from the field overall, 5 of 21 from three-point range, and 19 of 24 at the free throw line. German led the team in scoring with 23 points, while Jenna Adams chipped win with 13 points and nine rebounds and Myriah Iles finished with 10 points. Rachel Lockhart and Madison Lee chipped in with nine and eight points, respectively, in the win. “We knew our focus had to be on German,” said Blum. “She was averaging 24 points per game. We knew we had to be in her face and make her earn shots, and I thought we did that.”
LEE UNIVERSITY 66, GRACE COLLEGE 58 Lee 29 37 – 66 Grace 28 30 – 58 Lee – Rachel Lockhart 3-7 3-5 9, Jenna Adams 4-18 2-2 13, Hollie German 6-15 11-11 23, Madison Lee 2-6 2-2 8, Karley Miller 1-7 0-0 2, Kayla Beavers 0-1 0-0 2, Alex Swope 0-0 0-0 0, Melanie Barker 0-4 1-2 1, Myriah Iles 5-6 0-2 10, Christina Johnson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-64 19-24 66. Grace – Gabby Bryant 1-4 0-2 2, Juaneice Jackson 10-22 3-6 27, Darian Patton 0-3 0-0 0, Allison Kauffman 3-7 14-15 20, Lindsey Schaefer 1-2 0-0 2, Micah Pollard 0-0 0-0 0, Kelsey Sule 1-1 0-0 3, Dariyan Morris 0-2 0-0 0, Chloe Pridgen 1-4 2-4 4, Sarah Feasby 0-0 0-0 0, Tiffany Petro 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-45 19-27 58. Three-pointers – Lee 5 (Adams 3, Lee 2), Grace 5 (Jackson 4, Sule); Rebounds – Lee 31 (Adams 9), Grace 28 (Kauffman 8); Turnovers – Lee 13, Grace 22; Assists – Lee 10 (Miller 3), Grace 7 (Patton 3); Fouls – Lee 20, Grace 24; Fouled out – Schaefer; Records: Lee 23-4, Grace 17-16
