Grace’s Mackenzie Pulley works against Cornerstone Saturday in a 40-point Lancer win. (Photo provided by the Grace College Sports Information Department)

GRACE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL 97, CORNERSTONE 57

Grace’s women’s basketball team continued its hot start with another double-digit win.

The Lady Lancers improved to 2-0 on the season with a 97-57 win over Cornerstone on Saturday.

Five players scored in double figures for Grace in a balanced effort. The Golden Eagles (1-1) could not handle Grace’s pressure, coughing up 31 turnovers at the Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center.

It did not take Grace long to build a sizable lead. Within five minutes of action, Grace led 19-3. The Golden Eagles committed five turnovers in the opening stretch.

Grace took a 23-13 lead into the second quarter, and the margin only grew in the next 10 minutes.

The Lady Lancers started the second period with seven unanswered points thanks to five quick points by Kyannah Stull. Stull was a key contributor in the quarter, scoring 10 of her 16 points in the session.

Grace’s cushion expanded to as many as 27 before halftime, but a last-second basket by the Golden Eagles cut Grace’s edge to 54-29 at halftime.

Cornerstone shot the ball well in the opening half (52 percent), but Grace forced CU into 18 turnovers before halftime. Grace shot 53 percent with six 3-pointers made.

The third quarter was much of the same. Grace’s lead slowly grew as Cornerstone struggled to keep pace.

Vironnica Drake ripped off 11 points in the quarter to keep Grace’s momentum, and Micaela Box led back-to-back fastbreaks, finding Brooke Treadway for open layups each time.

In the fourth quarter, head coach Dan Davis substituted liberally. All 14 healthy players saw minutes with nine different members scoring. Grace led by as many as 46 before coasting to the final 40-point margin of victory.

For the game, Grace scored 37 points off Cornerstone’s 31 turnovers. The bench for Grace amassed 32 points, and the Lady Lancers had a 42-22 edge in points in the paint.

Drake led all players with 18 points, adding 8 boards, 4 assists and 3 steals. Stull had 16 points, 3 assists and 3 steals, and Kamryn Hostetler added 16 points, 4 assists and 2 steals.

Maddie Ryman tallied 12 points off the bench with two steals, Treadway had 10 points, 6 boards and 3 steals, and Lexi Minix added 8 points, 3 assists and a game-high 4 steals.

Box came off the bench to produce 9 points, 5 assists, 3 steals and 0 turnovers, and Kaylie Warble chipped in seven points.

Freshmen Morgan Ruff, Kate Schlatter and Nikki Toth all received their first collegiate minutes on Saturday.

The Lady Lancers have an exhibition game next week, traveling to play NCAA Div. II Lee on Nov. 2.

LANCER CROSS AT GREAT LAKES CHALLENGE

Grace’s cross country team tackled its final regular season race at the Great Lakes Challenge on Saturday.

The race is the last before opening up postseason races, starting with the Crossroads League Championships in South Bend on Nov. 9.

The men competed in the Maroon Race, placing 18th out of 26. The women were in the White Race, placing 4th out of 17.

Bryan Hernandez-Rios paced the men’s team in a time of 26:24, good for 61st place overall. Carter Meyer and Ben Rankin finished in a tight pack at 26:38 and 26:40 respectively.

Isaac Beatty was fourth for the Lancers at 27:17, and Logan Rufenacht ended the race in 27:44. Zach Johnson was next in line at 28:17, and Dimitri Margaritidis rounded out the top-seven with a time of 28:28.

“Our men competed well in a very competitive field. As a team over the last week, they’ve faced some real adversity, and I’m really proud of how they responded,” said Grace head coach Jake Poyner. “Today they met the goals we laid out together, and that should infuse confidence into them. It was great to see Carter up front as he works through health problems, and Bryan continues to be Mr. Consistent for us.”

The Lady Lancers were led by Heather Plastow who turned in a fourth-place showing at 19:47. Suzanne Sickafoose also had a top-20 showing at 20:22, good for 12th in the field.

Three freshmen were next in line, including Elizabeth Moore (21:09), Mallory Aker (21:28) and Weslea Arthur (21:38).

Rebekah Rexroth was Grace’s sixth finisher at 21:48.

“The ladies are working on building confidence, understanding where we can grow and going out to chase excellence as a team,” Poyner continued. “Heather is ready for a huge race and is moving toward something great, and Suzi ran an all-time PR today. The spirit of this team has inspired me in my own faith, and I’m really excited for what they’re capable of at conference in a few weeks.”