NC Indiana News

Grace falls to No. 6 Marian

Grace's women's basketball did battle with No. 6 Marian on Wednesday night, falling by a final score 65-56.

The game's original start time was moved up by two hours due to inclement weather in the area.

Grace (16-6, 9-3 Crossroads League) had two points by the midpoint of the quarter, but a layup from Karlee Feldman and a trifecta from Kiersten Findley pulled the Lady lancers to within one-point.

However, Grace's offense went cold during the final five minutes of the quarter, converting just one field goal.

Grace's offense was muted in the first quarter, shooting just 25 percent from the field. Marian (20-2, 11-1 CL) also forced the Lady Lancers into seven turnovers, which helped the Knights to an 18-11 lead at the break.

The Lady Lancer's offense picked up the pace in the second quarter, fueled by six points by Findley.

Marian held a nine-point advantage with 3:42 left in the half but Grace's offense surged to close out the stanza.

Molly Long hit a corner 3-point shot as the Lady Lancers went on a 9-4 run. Marian responded at the last possible second with a 3-point shot at the buzzer to send the game to halftime break with Grace down 34-27.

Findley was the only Lady Lancer to crack double-digit points in the opening 20 minutes. Grace shot 35 percent in the first half compared to Marian's 43 percent.

Grace attempted to dig into the deficit in the third quarter, but Marian seemed to have a response every time the Lady Lancers threatened. With 5:28 left in the third quarter the Knights had extended their advantage to nine points.

Findley helped the Lady Lancers muster another run with back-to-back buckets. Jenna Blakley's 3-point shot cut the deficit to just two points.

The Knights quickly regained momentum with a trifecta of their own on the next possession as Marian took a 49-43 lead into the final quarter.

Grace forced Marian into four turnovers in the final quarter, but it could not undo the Knight's 63 percent fourth quarter shooting as the Lady Lancers dropped the contest 65-56.

"Today was a slugfest," said Grace head coach Dan Davis. "I thought Marian did a good job getting us out of our comfort zone a little bit, but we didn't play smart enough. I thought we struggled to communicate at times defensively and offensively we forced some stuff and played really out of character. Got to learn from this one quickly as we get ready for Saturday."

Findley impressed offensively with 16 points on 6-10 shooting. Feldman also scored 16 points while also grabbing 11 rebounds.

Grace finished the game shooting 36 percent while Marian hit at a 48 percent clip. The Lady Lancers were outscored 36-30 in the paint. 

Grace will play another top-10 foe on Saturday as they travel to Indiana Wesleyan for a 1 p.m. tip.

Original source can be found here