Grace Basketball: Ladies Escape, Take Fifth
WINONA LAKE — It was a fitting end to an exciting season for the Grace women’s basketball team Friday night. The Lady Lancers had a back-and-forth battle with Southwestern Christian in the consolation round of the 2017 NCCAA National Championships that led to an exhilarating
Grace’s women’s basketball team wrapped up the 2017 NCCAA National Championships with a dramatic 64-63 win over Southwestern Christian on Friday.
The win gave the Lady Lancers fifth place in the national tournament, the team’s second-best finish in program history and best since 2012 (third).
The fourth quarter was filled with action. The score was tied four times, although Grace refused to surrender the lead. The Lady Lancers secured the victory on the defensive end.
With five minutes to play, a driving hoop from Vironnica Drake put Grace ahead 59-55. But the Lady Eagles (17-17) scored on consecutive possessions to tie the game.
Haley Richardson and Pam Miller converted shots, but SCU responded again to tie the game at 63 apiece with 1:48 remaining. That basket from SCU came after Richardson had fouled out on a charge call, one that did not sit well with the Lancer faithful in attendance. But, instead of letting Richardson’s exit have a negative impact, Grace responded and rallied around its senior.
“Our team responded the right way,” said Grace head coach Scott Blum. “They love her (Richardson) to death and she’s meant so much for us the past two years, they buckled down and that’s what we’ve talked about heading into today. It’s the last game, let’s play for the seniors.
“Yes, we all want to win games, but we just wanted to go out there and have fun today, win or lose, and send these seniors off with a good memory.”
On Grace’s next possession, Kelsie Peterson was fouled in the lane. The junior, who won Thursday’s game with last-second free throws, hit 1-of-2 from the foul line to win the game again.
Grace took care of the rest from the defensive end of the court. The Lady Lancers forced the Lady Eagles into five missed shots over the final frantic plays, including four misses on the last possession. As the final shot fell short, Grace exploded onto the court in synchronization with the final buzzer to end the season on a high note.
“That buzzer went off and it was the best buzzer I had heard all year,” Blum said, wearing a big smile.
Richardson had one of the best games in her last, scoring 18 points with six rebounds, and Miller tallied eight points and 11 rebounds.
A big second quarter propelled Grace’s women’s basketball team in the first half.
Southwestern Christian led 17-14 after the first quarter. The Lady Eagles jumped out to an 11-5 lead, and they maintained that slight edge for the rest of the period.
In the second quarter, Grace used a 16-0 run to grab control of the game. Richardson muscled her way to six points during Grace’s run, and Lauren Godfrey and Broghan Gamble hit back-to-back 3-pointers.
The Lady Lancers used that momentum to burst into the halftime locker room with a 35-25 lead. Richardson led all players with 11 points in the first half, and Miller grabbed 10 rebounds by herself.
The third quarter saw the Lady Eagles burst back into the game. SCU used a 19-6 run to get back into the contest.
But Lauren Godfrey gave Grace a spark entering the final quarter, swishing a long 3-pointer just before the clock expired to give the Lady Lancers a 55-51 lead to set the stage for an exciting last 10 minutes.
SCU was led offensively by Eliora Johnson’s 22 points, which was a high for the game.
The win ends the careers of Richardson, Darian Patton, Pridgen and Hannah Adams. This senior class will be hard to replace as they not only helped to lift the Lady Lancers to their second-best finish in the NCCAA tournament but also carried the program to its first Crossroads League tournament win earlier this season in addition to posting the fourth-most single season wins in program history as the the finish with a record of 17-19.
The class of 2017 is just the warning shot to future opponents of the Lady Lancers as it is a program that finds itself on the upswing.
“It’s exciting,” expressed Blum. “Last year was a hiccup for us, we had five-straight winning seasons then we went 8-22, but I told people we could just have easily been 22-8. It was kind of a freshman year for Haley (after transferring in from Ball State) last year and then she has a breakout year this year. If I had her for four years, she would’ve been scary by her junior year.
“The girls are just working hard on changing the culture. Adding Taylor (Goshert) to our staff has been absolutely awesome. She’s added her heart and the way that she played and its rubbing off on our players, they respect her, they love her. It’s going to be exciting to see what she’ll add this offseason. Then we’re adding, I think, the best recruiting class since I’ve been here. I’m excited to get to work tomorrow.”