FORT WAYNE – The Grace College women’s basketball team was unable to recover from its first-half struggles en route to a 70-55 defeat at St. Francis on Saturday.

The Lady Lancers (5-19, 0-12 Crossroads League) mustered just 15 points in the first half, creating a hole too large to climb out of against the Cougars (11-10, 7-5 CL).

Grace’s shooting woes were accentuated in the first quarter. The Lady Lancers missed 15 of their 17 field goals in the quarter; by the quarter’s end, Grace was behind by 10.

Offense was only marginally better in the second quarter. Grace shot 4-of-11 from the floor, but St. Francis outscored the visitors 16-9 in the period to claim a 32-15 cushion at halftime.

Grace’s offensive adjustments paid off in the second half. The Lady Lancers shot 47 percent from the floor compared to 21 percent before halftime. As a result, Grace ripped off 40 second-half points.

Grace showed signs of a comeback in the fourth quarter. A 3-pointer from Hannah Adams cut the Cougars’ lead down to 49-36 with 9:02. But the Lady Lancers were unable to further bridge the gap, leaving Grace still searching for its first league victory.

The Lady Lancers finished the game shooting 35 percent as a team while the Cougars hit 48 percent. St. Francis also owned a comfortable 43-28 advantage in rebounds.

Freshman Maycee Davis led Grace in scoring with 10 points, hitting 4-of-8 from the floor with a pair of 3-pointers.

Haley Richardson and Gabby Miller each added nine points, and Richardson swatted two shots. Adams scored seven points off the bench, and Pam Miller added six. 

Sarah Feasby tallied six points and seven rebounds, and Kelsie Peterson had 6 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 assists.

The Lady Lancers will travel to Huntington on Wednesday for their next matchup.