Grace Basketball: Ladies Rip Robert Morris
WESTVILLE – Grace’s women’s basketball team routed Robert Morris 90-43 on Friday to kick off the Purdue Northwest Classic.
The Lady Lancers (2-1) employed a balanced attack with all 15 players seeing the court and 14 of those players scoring.
Friday was Grace’s largest margin of victory since a 52-point win over Calumet St. Joseph’s in 2014.
No Lady Lancers played more than 19 minutes as Grace coach Scott Blum substituted freely throughout the game. Grace’s defense gave the Eagles (0-1) issues from start to finish. Robert Morris committed 31 turnovers thanks to 17 steals by Grace.
After just one quarter, Grace already held a commanding 27-7 lead. Haley Richardson scored six quick points to get Grace started, and Lauren Godfrey buried two 3-pointers late in the quarter.
The second quarter was not much better for the Eagles; Grace outscored Robert Morris 19-5 in the period, claiming a 46-12 advantage at halftime. In the middle of the quarter, Grace blanked the Eagles with a 16-0 run which was punctuated by back-to-back 3s from Hannah Adams.
The Lady Lancers coasted in the second half, eventually building their cushion up to 49 at one point in the fourth quarter.
Vironnica Drake led all scorers with 15 points, adding six boards and four steals. Richardson had 14 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists, hitting 7-of-10 from the floor.
Adams had a hot shooting hand, making 4-of-5 from the floor and all three of her 3-pointers for 11 points. She did her damage in just eight minutes of action.
No other player for Grace had more than six points. Brooke Treadway, Godfrey and Brooke Sugg each notched six points, and Darian Patton tallied 5 points, 5 assists and 3 steals.
Bobbi Douglas, Broghan Gamble, Myriah Hoffman and Treadway all made their collegiate debuts, and all four players registered their first points in a Lady Lancer uniform.
As a team, Grace outrebounded Robert Morris 61-36; the Lady Lancers’ 28 offensive rebounds were nearly more than the total rebounding effort by the Eagles. Grace’s 28 offensive boards were the team’s most since 2004.
The Eagles were stifled into shooting 28 percent as a team, including 3-for-18 beyond the arc (17 percent).
The Lady Lancers will end the tournament on Saturday against the host No. 13 Purdue Northwest.