WINONA LAKE – The Grace College women’s basketball team got back to .500 in Crossroads League competition Wednesday night with a poised 67-46 win over Spring Arbor.

Juaneice Jackson scored a game-high 23 points with five steals, four rebounds and three assists to lead Grace’s effort.

“I thought we came out and played very well with our defensive effort. We worked on attacking out of the zone the last few days, got some really good looks and finished our shots,” said Grace head coach Scott Blum. “I would say our defense gave us the lead, and we maintained it with good team offense. Overall, this was a good start to the final portion of the league schedule.”

The Lady Lancers’ (11-5; 2-2 CL) defense forced Spring Arbor into 12 first-half turnovers.

Grace, who trailed for less than 30 seconds in the early portions of the game, used a 23-6 run to break away from the Cougars (6-10; 0-4 CL).

Jackson’s offense fueled Grace’s attack in the opening period as she scored 15 points before halftime. Grace entered the break ahead 39-22.

The Lady Lancers led by as many as 23 points in the second half before the Cougars rallied to within 56-42 with just under five minutes to play.

But freshman Gabby Bryant drilled a 3-pointer on Grace’s next possession to end the final threat Spring Arbor was able to muster.

Overall, Grace tallied 16 assists on 24 made field goals. The Lady Lancers sank nearly half of their 3-point attempts (7-of-15) on the evening.

Defensively, Grace held Spring Arbor to 31 percent shooting. The Cougars were responsible for 21 turnovers and made just 5-of-19 from beyond the arc.

Jackson did her damage thanks to 4-of-6 shooting from the 3-point line.

Emily Bidwell reached double figures with 10 points, and Jayla Starks added 7 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists.

Bryant and Allison Kauffman finished with eight points apiece, and JoEllen Fickel made all three of her field goal attempts to net six points in nine minutes of action.

The Lady Lancers continue Crossroads League action with a game on Saturday 1 p.m. at Goshen College.