CHICAGO – A sluggish start unraveled the Grace College women’s basketball team on Saturday afternoon in an 80-47 defeat to Siena Heights.

The Lady Lancers (6-8) trailed by as many as 41 points in a forgettable first-half performance as Siena Heights led 55-20 at the halftime break.

The Saints (8-5) made a remarkable 72 percent of their shots in the opening half, hitting 21-of-29 from the floor to go along with nine 3-pointers. Conversely, Grace struggled to 6-of-24 shooting before halftime.

In the first half, Grace was held scoreless for 5:30 of action. The Lady Lancers still had just 12 points with three minutes remaining in the half before a late eight-point spurt gave Grace 20 points.

Grace managed to outscore Siena Heights by two points in the second half, but it was far from enough to undo Grace’s slow start.

Allison Kauffman was the lone Lady Lancer to reach double figures in scoring, notching 10 points. Juaneice Jackson and Dariyan Morris added eight points apiece. Gabby Bryant also saw 15 minutes of playing time, her first game in nearly two months after suffering injury.

Grace only managed to sink 14 field goals in defeat, committing 25 turnovers as a team on 30-percent shooting.

The Lady Lancers will play in the consolation game of the Roosevelt Tournament on Sunday. Grace will take on the host and 11th-ranked Lakers at 2 p.m.