St. Francis Women 57, Grace 45

Grace’s women’s basketball team played strong defensively in a loss to St. Francis on Wednesday.

The Lady Lancers held USF to 57 points and 40 percent shooting overall. But Grace’s offense fell flat in a 57-45 defeat.

Grace shot just 29 percent from the floor and 19 percent (4 of 21) from beyond the arc. Only five players scored for Grace, led by 12 points and five rebounds from Kyannah Stull.

Offense was hard to come by in the first half. Grace needed four minutes to make its first field goal and only scored nine points in the first quarter.

But the Lady Lancers’ defense was sharp, limiting USF to just seven points in the stanza. Both teams shot 30 percent or worse in the quarter, including a combined 1 of 10 from beyond the arc.

The Lady Lancers (11-13, 2-12 Crossroads League) opened up a four-point edge early in the second quarter on a driving score from Kamryn Hostetler. But USF held Grace without a field goal for the next six minutes.

A 3-pointer from Maddie Ryman ended a lengthy drought for Grace. But USF drilled a triple of its own in the final minute, taking a 21-18 lead at halftime.

Grace only shot 27 percent from the floor and 10 percent (1 of 10) from the 3-point line. The Cougars outrebounded Grace 24-14, but Grace forced USF into 11 turnovers in the half.

Stull began the third quarter with a trey to tie the score. Soon after, however, the Cougars (12-9, 6-6 CL) unleashed an 11-2 run to grab an eight-point cushion.

USF began the fourth quarter maintaining its eight-point lead and never lost the edge. Grace could not hit a field goal for the first 5:37 of the fourth quarter, allowing the Cougars to open up a 54-39 advantage.

Grace continued to press in the fourth quarter, creating a number of turnovers. But the Lady Lancers were unable to hit a few timely shots to complete a rally.

Ryman finished with 11 points, 4 rebounds and 2 steals, and Hostetler tallied 11 points, 4 assists and 2 steals.

Kaylee Patton chipped in 6 points, 5 boards and 2 steals, and Kenzie McMahon added five points and a team-high seven boards.

The Lady Lancers are home again on Saturday, playing host to No. 19 Indiana Wesleyan at 1 p.m.

St. Francis Men 83, Grace 79

Grace’s men’s basketball team led by six with two minutes remaining on Wednesday at St. Francis.

But the Lancers surrendered 10 straight points to end the game, falling 83-79 on the road.

Haden Deaton impressed in the loss, scoring a game-high 24 points which included six 3-pointers.

Grace was sharp with its shooting touch on Wednesday. The Lancers (13-8, 6-6 Crossroads League) shot 55 percent from the floor and 53 percent (9 of 17) from the 3-point line.

But 17 turnovers deeply hurt Grace’s cause; USF, who committed just five turnovers, scored 24 points off Grace’s miscues.

Neither team had trouble scoring in the first half. The teams combined to score 91 points in the first 20 minutes.

Despite the crazed pace offensively, neither team led by more than five for the entirety of the half.

Grace led by as many as five points with six minutes remaining in the half, but the Cougars (18-7, 5-7 CL) came back to lead 46-45 at halftime.

Each side shot at least 50 percent as a team in the half, including Grace’s red-hot 59 percent from the field. Deaton notched 12 first-half points, and Jakob Gibbs had 11 points off the bench.

The lead changed hands a few times to start the second half. With 12:40 remaining, Deaton sank a 3-pointer to give the Lancers a 54-51 lead.

The Cougars responded with 10 unanswered points over the next two minutes, aided by an and-1 as well as a 3-pointer.

Grace still faced a five-point deficit with five minutes to play before making what seemed to be a game-changing run.

Over the next three minutes, Grace produced an 11-0 charge. Five different players scored for Grace in the run. Frankie Davidson gave Grace a 74-73 lead, followed by a bucket by Jake Wadding and another 3-pointer by Deaton (his sixth of the game).

After Deaton’s final triple, Grace led 79-73 with 2:11 on the clock. But the Cougars had the final say.

The Lancers helped USF with its comeback by committing three turnovers in a row. The Cougars converted an and-1 followed by a 3-pointer to tie the score with 1:29 remaining.

After Grace’s third turnover, the Cougars capitalized with a dunk to claim an 81-79 lead to stun the Lancers.

Grace had two chances to tie the score but came up empty. On the first chance, Grace was blocked in the paint. On the next possession, Grace turned the ball over with 10 seconds remaining.

USF sank two free throws as Grace was forced to foul, extending the lead to four and essentially icing the comeback victory.

The Lancers had 11 of their 17 turnovers after halftime. Comparatively, USF had just five turnovers for the game.

Wadding shot 7 of 10 from the field to finish with 15 points. Gibbs finished with 14 points, including 3 of 5 shooting from downtown.

Davidson tied a career-high with 15 rebounds, adding six points and four assists. Matt Jennings added nine points and three assists, Elijah Malone notched 8 points, 4 rebounds and 2 blocks, and Eddie Gill IV had three points and five rebounds.

The Lancers end the week with the top team in the nation. Grace will travel to No. 1 Indiana Wesleyan for a 1 p.m. matchup on Saturday. IWU boasts a 25-1 record, its lone blemish of the season to the Lancers (91-87) on Jan. 6.