Grace Ladies Lose Regional Final
CEDARVILLE, Ohio – The Grace College women’s basketball team lost its final tune-up before the NCCAA National Championships to Cedarville University 80-46 on Saturday.
Cedarville claimed the Midwest regional championship with the win and will join the Lady Lancers (19-14) at NCCAA Nationals from March 13-16.
The Lady Lancers struggled mightily from the offensive end, making just 16-of-51 from the floor (31 percent). The Yellow Jackets, on the other hand, made 33-of-56 for 59 percent for the game.
Cedarville opened the game with a 15-5 run and held onto a double-digit lead for much of the half.
A quick spurt from the Lady Lancers with less than five minutes remaining brought Grace to within 29-20.
But over the next eight minutes spanning between the halves, Grace was outscored 21-6 to hand the Yellow Jackets a 50-26 advantage.
Lindsey Schaefer and Allison Kauffman tied for team scoring honors for Grace with 10 points apiece. Kauffman pulled down a game-high eight boards, and Schaefer added five.
Eleven players saw playing time for Grace with eight of the Lady Lancers scoring. Juaneice Jackson tallied six points, three assists and two steals, Heather House scored six points, and Sarah Feasby chipped in four points and four boards.
Grace will enter their fifth consecutive NCCAA National Championship as the host bid. Stay tuned to www.grace.edu/athletics/nccaa for updates on the 2013 tournament draw and release of the official men’s and women’s brackets.