Former Warsaw star Dayton Groninger is all smiles Tuesday night. Groninger, despite suffering an ankle injury, helped her Indiana Wesleyan team to a 68-64 win at Grace College.

WINONA LAKE – Dayton Groninger was handed lemons Tuesday night.

She went ahead and made lemonade out of them.

No one would expect anything less from the selfless former Warsaw star.

Groninger, despite suffering an ankle injury that sidelined her for most of the game, was still all smiles after returning home to help her Indiana Wesleyan women’s basketball team pick up a 68-64 win over host Grace College Tuesday night.

Freshman forward Groninger, who is off to a fine start to her collegiate career, was hurt with 7:35 to play in the second quarter. She sprained her right ankle while attempting to block a shot by a driving Grace player and did not return to the contest.

Dayton Groninger warms up Tuesday night.

Groninger, who was the leading scorer for her Warsaw team each of the past three seasons, was off to a great start Tuesday night too. She came in with 2:54 to play in the opening period and quickly hit back-to-back treys to push her team’s lead to 20-3 at the time.

“I’m proud of our team for getting the win tonight,” said Groninger with a smile following the Crossroads League opener. “It stinks a little that I got hurt because I really wanted to play in this game. But it’s okay. It’s just a normal sprain. I’m thankful that I did it tonight at least since we have a little break now so I can rest it.”

Groninger spent the final half sitting and watching from the end of the IWU bench, cheering her teammates on.

“It was tough to sit and watch,” commented Groninger. “But if I was going to get hurt, this was the time to do it with some days off since we have a little break now.

“I had been looking forward to this game all week. I’m so thankful for my support base, all of my friends and family who were here tonight.”

Groninger finished with six points as she made both of her shots from long distance before being hurt. She also had a steal in five minutes of action as IWU improved to 7-2 overall with its sixth straight win.

Groninger, a versatile 5-10 player who can shoot from deep or drive the ball to the bucket, entered play Tuesday night averaging 8.6 points and 4.1 rebounds while playing an average of 17.5 minutes per game. She had a high of 19 points earlier this month in a loss to No. 13 IU-East.

“Coach Whaley has confidence in me and that’s encouraging,” noted Groninger. “The best part for me right now is playing time. It’s great as a freshman to be able to contribute. I have confidence right now playing college ball.”

Dayton Groninger has had a strong start to her freshman season.

Groninger, the daughter of Jason and Erika Groninger, ended her prep career at WCHS on a high note last season. She became just the sixth player in the illustrious history of Lady Tiger basketball to score 1,000 points when she did it in her final game in the sectional. Groninger led Warsaw to a 20-4 mark her senior season and was a three-time first-team pick to the Ink Free News All-Area team.

First-year IWU coach Ethan Whaley has been very impressed with the humble and hard-working Groninger.

“Dayton just continues to grow every single day for us,” said Whaley, who was an assistant coach with the IWU men’s program prior to taking over the women’s team this year. “She just wants to learn and grow and that is what has allowed her to be successful so far.

“I hate that she got injured tonight. She came out and was rolling with those two threes right away. We told her just to come out and relax and play free tonight and she did that before she got hurt. I told her that she had nothing to prove tonight because these people know you can play.

“She’s just been a great leader for us. She’s just so versatile. She’s a tough matchup because she can shoot it or drive it. The sky’s the limit for her in the future.”

IWU returns to action versus conference foe Goshen College on Nov. 29 in Marion.