WINONA LAKE – Playing their second ranked opponent in as many days, the Grace College women’s basketball team faded late in a loss to No. 9 St. Xavier on Saturday.

The 20th-ranked Lady Lancers (2-5) stayed within striking distance of the Cougars for most of the contest, but a scoring drought plagued Grace down the stretch as they lost 84-63.

Grace trailed by just six points at 66-60 when Juaneice Jackson scored five straight points with 7:34 remaining. But the Lady Lancers’ offense hit a wall for the rest of the afternoon.

Over the final seven minutes of action, the Lady Lancers scored just three points on a trey from Allison Kauffman. The Cougars proceeded to end the game on an 18-3 run to clinch the victory.

The first half of action saw seven ties in a fast-paced, high-scoring effort for both squads. Both teams made over 50 percent of their field goals in the opening period as the Cougars led 46-41 at the break.

While the Cougars’ offense continued to click at a high rate in the second half (52 percent shooting), the Lady Lancers had the opposite effect. Grace connected on a paltry 6-of-24 from the floor (25 percent) to go along with 8-of-15 from the free throw line in the second half.

The Lady Lancers also struggled in ball control without their starting point guard Gabby Bryant (injury). Grace committed 20 turnovers, allowing the Cougars to score 31 points off Grace’s mistakes.

Jackson finished with 19 points, five rebounds and three steals for Grace, and Allison Kauffman recorded 18 points and eight boards.

Dariyan Morris notched 10 points, and Chloe Pridgen added eight points and five boards.

Despite playing two consecutive Top-25 ranked opponents, Grace’s opposition only gets tougher the next game. The Lady Lancers will travel to NCAA Division I opponent IPFW on Wednesday for an 11:30 a.m. tipoff.