Grace College freshman guard Gabby Bryant scored 10 points Tuesday night in a 68-52 loss to IPFW in Fort Wayne (Photo provided by Grace College Sports Information Department)

FORT WAYNE – The Grace College women’s basketball team played its second straight NCAA Division I opponent on Tuesday night, losing 68-52 to IPFW from Memorial Coliseum.

The Lady Lancers improved greatly after halftime, playing level with the Mastodons as each squad scored 32 points in the second half.

Three players for the Lady Lancers (4-1) reached double-digit scoring, led by 17 points from Allison Kauffman. Juaneice Jackson scored 11 points, and freshman Gabby Bryant added eight of her 10 points in the second half.

“I am proud of my Lady Lancers. They bounced back from a difficult loss at IUPUI and responded very well against a good IPFW team,” said Grace head coach Scott Blum. “We didn’t execute offensively or play aggressively in the first half, but we came out and did both well in the second half.”

IPFW started out the game with accurate shooting, making seven of their first 10 field goal attempts. But Grace’s defense buckled down afterward and forced the Mastodons (1-1) into 35 percent shooting from the field for the final 15 minutes of the half.

Six minutes after tip-off, Grace trailed 15-11 before surrendering a 19-6 run to allow the Mastodons to take a 17-point lead.

Grace committed nine turnovers in the first half, but Kauffman did her best to keep Grace close with eight first-half points. IPFW entered halftime with a 36-20 advantage.

The Lady Lancers made a spurt in the early stages of the second half with seven unanswered points, capped off by a 3-pointer from Jackson, to cut IPFW’s lead to 11.

The Mastodons regained a comfortable lead shortly after and maintained it until the final stages of the game.

Grace used a 12-2 run over the final minutes of play to surge to within 12 points of the Mastodons, but it proved to be too little, too late.

“To tie IPFW 32-32 in the second half is a good sign,” Blum said. “If we play hard for 40 minutes and execute, this team can do some good things this year.”

Grace’s defense forced IPFW into 13 turnovers in the second half. They also made 11-of-13 from the free throw line after halftime.

Kauffman boasted an impressive stat line with 5 rebounds, 3 blocks and 2 steals to go along with her team-best 17 points. She hit 7-of-11 from the field, including a 3-pointer.

Jackson added 4 rebounds, 5 assists and a game-high 3 steals, and Bryant led all players with 34 minutes played.

Emily Bidwell chipped in with six points and four boards, and Jayla Starks, JoEllen Fickel, Sarah Feasby and Lindsey Schaefer each scored two.

The Lady Lancers will host the annual KCCCF Optimist Classic on Friday and Saturday with all proceeds benefitting the Kosciusko County Cancer Care Fund (KCCCF). Grace will play Rochester at 6 p.m. on Friday before welcoming No. 24 Union on Saturday at 2 p.m.