MARION – A slow start by Grace College’s women’s basketball team resulted in an 80-65 loss in Crossroads League play Wednesday at No. 13 Indiana Wesleyan University.
The Lady Lancers were outscored by 19 in the first quarter, and Grace could not sustain a comeback bid against the Wildcats (15-6, 7-2 CL).
In Grace’s loss to IWU earlier in the season, the Wildcats led 24-5 in the first quarter. That theme was repeated on Wednesday when IWU jumped out to a 12-0 lead.
The Lady Lancers (10-11, 4-5 CL) did not score their first point until the 6:40 mark of the opening quarter when Pam Miller made a shot in the paint. The only other points scored by Grace in the quarter came from a basket by Lauren Godfrey in the last minute, and IWU held a commanding 23-4 lead by quarter’s end.
Grace was 2 of 11 from the floor in the quarter (18 percent), while IWU shot 63 percent.
The rest of the game was played practically even, with Grace outscoring IWU by four over the final three quarters. But the damage proved to be irreparable for the Lady Lancers.
Grace started the second quarter with a 7-2 spurt to cut the Wildcats’ margin to 14, but at halftime Grace trailed 39-20. IWU maintained a comfortable cushion for the rest of the contest.
Micaela Box finished with a team-high 15 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals for the Lady Lancers, and Brooke Sugg scored 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting. Vironnica Drake had nine points, and Kelsie Peterson scored six.
The Lady Lancers end the week on Saturday, traveling to Taylor for a 1 p.m. contest that is part of a women’s/men’s doubleheader.
IWU was led by a balanced scoring effort that included five players in double figures. Anna Imhoff finished with 17 points, while Carly Lange and Elaina Ededuwa scored 12 each, and Katie Key and Brittany Washington 10 each.
Former Warsaw Community High School standout Dayton Groninger tallied seven points, three rebounds and a pair of assists for IWU.
