JOLIET, Ill. – Grace College’s women’s basketball team suffered its first loss of the season Friday night, falling 62-54 at St. Francis (Ill). The Lady Lancers (5-1) trailed by as many as 15 points in the second half and could not complete its comeback bid. Grace’s offense sputtered to its worst shooting percentage of the season at 31 percent. The first half demonstrated Grace’s offensive struggles. The Lady Lancers scored just 10 points over the first 13:31 and trailed 18-10 at that point. The Saints (1-4) held a 29-20 lead at the half. St. Francis continued to expand its lead in the second half, claiming a 15-point advantage at 39-24 with 13:46 remaining in the game, but Grace had a comeback in its arsenal. Still behind by 14 points with 8:17 on the clock, Grace mounted a furious 11-1 run to chop the Saints’ lead down to four with 4:31 to play. Allison Kauffman had five points during Grace’s run. St. Francis scored on its next two possessions to gain separation, but a three-pointer from Gabby Bryant brought Grace to within five points with less than three minutes left. The Saints made five free throws in the final minute, however, to hold on for the eight-point win. As a team, Grace struggled and had a season-high 25 turnovers in defeat. The Saints had 22 turnovers of their own, but the hosts hit 44 percent of their field goal attempts. St. Francis’s Katie Gonnering led all players with 30 points on 14-of-22 shooting. Grace did hold a plus-10 advantage on the boards, but the Lady Lancers could not overcome their 31-percent shooting performance. Kauffman registered all of her 13 points in the second half to go along with a game-high 15 rebounds, and Lindsey Schaefer chipped in with 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting. Kelsey Sule (seven points) and Micah Pollard (five points) provided a spark off the bench for Grace, and Bryant and Darian Patton scored six points apiece. The Lady Lancers face a stiff test on Saturday when they travel to the No. 1 scoring team in the nation in Olivet Nazarene, which averages 116 points per contest.
