Grace Roundup: Lady Lancers Blitz Rival BethelWINONA LAKE – Grace College’s women’s basketball team picked up its second straight Crossroads League rout with a 91-64 win over Bethel College on Saturday.
Brooke Sugg propelled Grace’s offense with 32 points in 27 minutes. The Lady Lancers’ defense gave Bethel issues all afternoon, forcing the Pilots (7-4, 2-1 CL) into 22 turnovers compared to just seven for Grace.
Grace got off to a fast start, scoring the first seven points of the game. Sugg, who scored a career-high 40 points on Wednesday, had the first four points after tipoff.
Bethel clawed back to trail by one, but the Lady Lancers (7-5, 2-1 CL) ended the half with nine straight points to lead 21-12. Sugg scored in the final seconds of the first period, her eighth points of the quarter.
Grace pushed its lead up to 19 in the second quarter, and later led 38-25 at halftime. Sugg made the last shot of the second quarter again, giving her 13 points in the first half.
The Lady Lancers continued their strong play in the third quarter; Grace opened up a 21-point cushion at 49-28 after a pair of free throws by Kamryn Hostetler.
The lead only grew as Grace ended the period on a 14-3 run, grabbing a commanding 70-44 lead after three quarters.
Both teams substituted liberally in the fourth quarter, and Grace’s lead steadily grew to as much as 33. Neither team scored a point for the final 3:46 of regulation.
As a team Grace shot 51 percent from the floor and had a plus-five advantage in rebounding. Grace scored 31 points off Bethel’s 22 turnovers, and the Lady Lancers also had a 47-30 edge in points in the paint.
Sugg’s 32 points came on 14-of-21 shooting, and she added two assists and two boards. Vironnica Drake tallied 19 points, four assists, four rebounds and four steals, and Hostetler scored 10 points.
Brooke Treadway made 4 of 4 attempts from the floor and 2 of 2 from the foul line for 10 points, adding seven boards in 10 minutes.
Kaylie Warble produced nine points and six rebounds, Kyannah Stull had seven points, six assists and four steals, and Pam Miller added two points and five boards.
Kelsey Brickner led Bethel with 18 points, while Maci Heimlich and Maggie Deboy chipped in with 17 and 11 points, respectively.
The Lady Lancers play at Goshen on Wednesday at 6 p.m. The men’s game at Goshen will follow at 8 p.m.
Men’s Basketball
WINONA LAKE – Charlie Warner’s 29 points went for naught in Grace College’s 96-88 defeat for Grace’s men’s basketball team against No. 15 Bethel.
The Lancers struggled to shoot just 42 percent from the floor, including 8 of 30 (27 percent) from beyond the arc.
Grace led early, scoring on its first three possessions to lead 6-0.
But the Pilots (11-1, 3-0 CL) countered with a 13-4 run a few minutes later to grab their first lead of the game.
Bethel scored four points in the final 20 seconds of the half, seizing a 38-32 lead at halftime.
The Lancers (8-3, 0-3 CL) saw their deficit grow to 12 points early in the second half and faced a 13-point lead with five minutes to play.
Bethel led 90-78 with 1:05 remaining in regulation, but Grace showed resolve and started a rally.
Braxton Linville scored five quick points, and the Lancers forced a turnover with fullcourt pressure.
On the next play, Jaret Sons buried a corner three-pointer to cut Bethel’s lead down to six with less than 40 seconds remaining.
Bethel iced the win with four free throws over the final seconds to win by eight.
Grace had three more rebounds than Bethel (36-33) and had only nine turnovers. But the Lancers could not recover from Bethel’s hot shooting and its own poor outside shooting.
Warner’s 29 points came from shooting 11 of 19; he drilled five three-pointers and grabbed three rebounds.
Haden Deaton scored 21 points for Grace and added three rebounds and two assists, and Logan Godfrey had a double-double with 15 points and 12 boards.
Linville tallied 14 points and six rebounds, and Eddie Gill IV had four points, five rebounds and three assists, including a highlight-reel putback dunk in the second half.
Trevion Crews led Bethel with 25 points, nine rebounds and six assists, while Paul Forman added 19 points and seven boards.
Trey’von Covington (15), Jared DeHart (13) and Luke Fisher (10) also scored in double figures for the Pilots.
The Lancers play at Goshen on Wednesday as part of a doubleheader with the women, who tip off at 6 p.m.
