FORT WAYNE – Grace College's women's basketball team continued its late-season push with their fourth-straight victory Saturday. Grace found its stride in a 57-41 win over No. 24 Saint Francis. With the win, the Lady Lancers (18-10; 10-6 MCC) now sit one game out of second place in the Mid-Central Conference with two games remaining. With a win on Tuesday against Bethel, Grace can take over second place in the MCC from Bethel. The Lady Lancers also tied the program record for wins in a season with their 18th victory. Grace is poised to break the single-season win record of 18-14 set by the 1989-90 squad. In their game with Saint Francis, the Lady Lancers trailed 14-8 midway through the first half. That proved to be the high point of the game for the Lady Cougars (17-11; 9-7 MCC). Grace took control of the game by scoring 16 straight points, including five each from Juaneice Jackson and Danielle Boykin. In all, Grace outscored Saint Francis 23-6 over the final 10 minutes of the first half. The Cougars were forced into 14 turnovers in the first half and 26 turnovers overall. Grace led 31-20 at the break but did not let up in the second half. The Lady Lancers held the Cougars to 21 second-half points on 19 percent from the field. The Lady Lancers built their lead up to 25 points, 56-31, with five minutes to go in the game. Hannah Lengel led all scorers with 15 points to go along with six boards, four steals and two assists. Boykin finished with 12 points, a game-high eight rebounds and four steals, and Jackson added 12 points and four steals. Overall, Grace recorded 18 steals and outrebounded Saint Francis 42-31. The Lady Lancers grabbed 12 offensive rebounds in the win. Grace’s critical matchup with Bethel is part of a doubleheader with the men’s teams at the Orthopaedic Capital Center Tuesday. The women’s game starts at 6 p.m., and the men’s game will follow.
