Pilots Hold Off Game Grace Squad
WINONA LAKE – Ashlee Ort normally helps the Bethel College women’s’ basketball team win games with her defense.
Ort, on Wednesday night, turned to her much-improved offensive arsenal to help the Pilots defeat a game Grace College squad.
Ort, a former standout at Wawasee High School, scored a team-high 14 points as No. 13 Bethel held off the host Lancers 62-55 in a key Crossroads League contest in the Orthopaedic Capital Center.
Senior Georgia Bosse scored 11 points and senior Kristen Hicks 10 as the Pilots overcame foul trouble and a plethora of missed layups to improve to 23-6 overall and 13-4 in conference play.
Star junior guard Juaneice Jackson, despite a rough shooting night, led the Lancers with 14 points before fouling out late in the game. Sophomore Allison Kauffman had 10 points and nine rebounds and senior Rianne Aguilar nine points for Grace, which drops to 18-11 overall and 9-8 in league action.
Ort, a hard-nosed senior, was clutch late for the Pilots. The 5-9 forward scored seven straight points for her team in a 1:16 stretch late in the game to ice the win. Ort, with her team holding to a still precarious 53-49 lead, hit a pair of free throws to make it 55-49 with 2:16 to play after being fouled after grabbing an offensive rebound. After Jackson hit two free throws for Grace, Ort converted a three-point play on a driving bucket and free throw with 1:20 left to make it 58-51. She then hit two free throws with 1:00 on the clock after grabbing a defensive rebound to make it 60-51.
“It always feels good to score,” said Ort, who is the third leading scorer for the Pilots at about eight points-per-game. “I’ve never been an offensive player, but I love driving to the basket and playing inside. Some things just opened up tonight late in the game and I got fouled and hit some free throws.”
“I’m a defensive specialist. I just need to start my game on the defensive end and build my offense from there. That’s my role on this team.”
Ort, who played just 21 minutes due to foul trouble, guarded Jackson to open the game. Jackson, who was averaging 18.9 ppg., shot just 3-of-15. The explosive southpaw junior guard from Gary had 10 points in the opening half, but just four free throws in the second half.
Bethel, which had defeated Grace 64-43 Jan. 10 in Mishawaka, hit 8-of-22 threes in the win. The Pilots, who knocked off No. 1 Indiana Wesleyan 50-48 on Saturday, average eight treys per contest in their three-guard, perimeter-oriented, fast-paced offense. Bethel led just 31-28 at halftime as the Lancers used a 10-2 edge in points from the free throw line to stay close.
“I expected a close game,” said Bethel coach Jody Martinez. “Grace is a good team and it’s their Senior Night with a lot of emotion. Scott (Grace coach Scott Blum) is doing a great job.
“I have confidence in whoever I play and the productivity from our bench tonight, especially on defense, was big with the foul trouble we had. The missed layups hurt us. We had 12 in the first half and that’s too many.
“Ashlee is just a competitor. She plays hard. Our game plan was to make Jackson earn all her points tonight. We knew she would score some in the first half, but we wanted to wear her out for the second half and I think we did. It helped our cause too that she got into foul trouble.
“This is a good road win. It’s tough to blow out any team in our league on the road, especially a good team like Grace. We just need to continue to play hard and get ready for the postseason.”
The game was nip-and-tuck throughout Wednesday night. Bethel’s biggest lead in the opening half came at 18-11. The Pilots led by as many as nine points in the final half, but the Lancers scrapped and stayed close with balance and effort.
“I’m just proud of how we battled tonight,” said Grace College coach Scott Blum. “We’ve played most of the second half of the season shorthanded (with two point guards out due to injuries) and my ladies have just bought in and fought.
“It came down to the last 3-4 possessions and Bethel got it done. They have nine seniors and are probably the only team in the league that has a deeper bench than we do. That was a factor tonight. I think we got tired late having to chase them.
“Jody is a great coach and he spread the floor and attacked us with really five guards.”
Bethel shot just 20-of-57 overall from the field, but did hit 8-of-22 from distance and 14-of-15 from the line (8-of-9 by Ort). Grace, which shot 28 percent in the loss at Bethel last month, finished 18-of-58 from the field and 17-of-24 from the line.
Ort led the Pilots with nine rebounds. Bethel top scorer Laura Johnson, a senior guard who averages 19.4 ppg. had just eight points on 2-of-13 shooting.
Grace, following the game, honored its senior trio of Emily Bidwell, Rianne Aguilar and Jayla Starks with a fitting, well-done tribute.
Bidwell played at Whitko High School, Aguilar at Marion High School and Starks at Fort Wayne North Side High School.
Bidwell had six points and four rebounds, Aguilar nine points and Starks two points, six steals and eight rebounds.
The Grace senior trio helped the program post its first 20-win season a year ago. The three have also been instrumental in three straight .500 or better seasons for the Lancers, the first time that’s happened in program history.
Bethel hosts Marian and Grace plays at Taylor Saturday at 1 p.m. in the conference and regular-season finales for both teams. The Crossroads League tourney is set for Feb. 19-25.