WINONA LAKE – Grace College’s women’s basketball team was on the verge of doing something Saturday no other team in the nation has done this season – beat No. 1 St. Francis. A last-second three-pointer from Grace sophomore Gabby Bryant was off the mark, however, allowing the top-ranked Cougars to escape the Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center with a 66-63 victory. Juaneice Jackson had 21 points, six steals, five rebounds and three assists to spearhead the Lady Lancers’ performance. Defensively, the Lady Lancers (13-13; 9-5 Crossroads League) forced the top-ranked Cougars into 22 turnovers. Grace’s trapping zone defense produced 15 steals, giving the Cougars (26-0; 14-0 CL) fits throughout the game. St. Francis held a slight cushion for much of the opening half, seizing a nine-point lead with two minutes remaining. But the Lady Lancers turned up the defensive heat in the final 90 seconds before the break, producing three steals that led to three layups, including an and-one from Jackson. Grace’s last layup with nine seconds left cut St. Francis’s margin to 31-30 at halftime. The Lady Lancers netted over half of their points (17 of 30) from Cougar turnovers before halftime. The second half was a back-and-forth affair as the lead changed hands eight times. Grace used a 7-0 spurt to claim a 57-52 lead, but St. Francis responded after a timeout with six unanswered points to retake the lead with 3:40 to play. Gabby Bryant sank two midrange jump shots in the final 2:30 to keep Grace in contention. St. Francis was clinging to a one-point lead with 39 seconds to play, but Grace was unable to get the defensive stop it needed. Jennelle Wilson converted an old-fashioned three-point play, lifting the Cougars to a four-point advantage with 20 seconds remaining. Jackson made a quick layup to cut the margin to two, and St. Francis managed just 1-of-2 from the foul line to give Grace a chance. Grace then turned the ball over, but somehow produced a steal of its own right after. Bryant, who made the steal, fired up a contested three-pointer from the left corner, but her potential game-tying shot was off the mark. Allison Kauffman tallied 16 points and six boards in defeat, and Bryant ended with eight points and two assists. Darian Patton chipped in six points and three assists, and Sarah Feasby tallied three points, six boards and two steals. The Lady Lancers play two home games this week, hosting Marian on Wednesday night and Huntington on Saturday. Brooke Ridley led St. Francis with a game-high 24 points, while Wilson added 12 and Kalah Baer finished with a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds.
ST. FRANCIS 66, GRACE COLLEGE 63 SF 31 35 – 66 GC 30 33 – 63 St. Francis – Brooke Ridley 9-12 6-6 24, Kalah Baer 3-8 5-8 11, Skylarr Shurn 3-11 3-5 9, Paige Frisch 3-8 0-0 7, Jennelle Wilson 4-7 3-3 12, Taylor Wilson 0-0 0-0 0, Bri Rinehart 0-1 0-0 0, Emily Montgomery 1-6 0-0 0, Jessica Harrison 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-53 17-22 66. Grace – Allison Kauffman 7-18 2-2 16, Lindsey Schraeder 1-1 0-0 2, Gabby Bryant 3-9 2-2 8, Juaneice Jackson 9-20 3-3 21, Darian Patton 3-4 0-0 6, Heather House 0-0 0-0 0, Kelsey Sule 0-0 0-0 0, JoEllen Fickel 2-5 0-0 4, Dariyan Morris 0-2 0-0 0, Chloe Pridgen 1-3 0-0 2, Sarah Feasby 1-3 1-2 3, Derria Chambliss 0-0 1-2 1. Totals 27-65 9-11 63. Three-pointers – St. Francis 3 (Wilson, Frisch, Montgomery), Grace 0; Rebounds – St. Francis 36 (Baer 10), Grace 29 (Kauffman 6, Feasby 6); Turnovers – St. Francis 22, Grace 20; Fouls – St. Francis 14, Grace 21; Fouled out – none; Records: St. Francis 26-0 (14-0 CL), Grace 13-13 (9-5 CL)
