GRACE 85, SPRING ARBOR 47

An impressive defensive performance led Grace’s women’s basketball team to an 85-47 victory over Spring Arbor on Wednesday.

The Lady Lancers held an opponent to below 50 points for the fifth time this season, limiting SAU to 30 percent shooting and 13 percent from beyond the arc.

Vironnica Drake filled the stat sheet, pouring in 23 points, 8 rebounds, 5 steals and 3 assists in just 26 minutes of work.

Grace started the game as the clear aggressor. Before four minutes had run off the clock, Grace had built a 14-2 lead to stun the Cougars. Kamryn Hostetler scored seven points during the opening flurry.

Kyannah Stull, who had a monster first half, found her shooting touch in the first quarter. She buried three triples in a four-minute span to propel the Lady Lancers’ offense.

Grace took a 30-16 lead after the first quarter, and the margin only grew over the next period.

The Lady Lancers (13-6, 4-3 Crossroads League) opened up the second quarter on a 10-2 spurt, sparked by six straight points from Drake.

Stull put the exclamation mark on the first half with less than a minute remaining. She drained a deep 3-pointer as the shot clock expired, and Grace went into halftime with a commanding 47-25 advantage.

Stull scored 17 points in the first half, followed by 11 points from Hostetler and 10 from Drake. Grace owned a 15-0 edge in fastbreak points and buried eight 3-pointers before halftime.

The Cougars (6-12, 1-6 CL) turned the ball over nine times in the first half and shot just 32 percent as a team.

Maintaining the story of the first half, Grace began the third quarter with another run. The Lady Lancers scored the first 10 points of the quarter, starting with back-to-back buckets from Kaylie Warble.

Grace put in its bench, and the Cougars took advantage with a 12-0 run of their own to cut Grace’s lead to 20.

The fourth quarter belonged fully to Grace, however. The Lady Lancers held the Cougars to just seven points in the final stanza, including three points over the last 8:29 of regulation.

Kate Schlatter ended the game’s scoring with a 3-pointer in the final minute, and Grace cruised to a 38-point win.

Stull finished the contest with 19 points and three assists, and Hostetler added 13 points, 5 assists, 5 boards and 3 steals. Stull buried five 3-pointers, her seventh time this season with at least five triples.

Warble had eight points and eight boards on 4-of-6 shooting, and Micaela Box scored 11 points with a trio of 3s. Lexi Minix tallied 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals, and Brooke Treadway chipped in 4 points, 3 rebounds and 1 blocked shot.

Next up, the Lady Lancers will head to Ohio on Saturday to play Mt. Vernon Nazarene at 1 p.m.

WARSAW 66, ELKHART MEMORIAL 30

It was all Warsaw at the Tiger Den Wednesday night in a total blowout of the Chargers.

Brielle Harrison had another solid night for the Tigers, posting a double-double of 18 points and 12 rebounds, seven boards on the offensive end. Abby Sanner continued the paint work with 16 points and nine rebounds.

Ten total Tigers scored against Memorial, Kacilyn Krebs and Audrey Grimm coming in with six points.

Memorial, which struggled through a 1-16 performance from behind the three-point line, had De’Mour Watson lead the squad with 16 points. Madison Axsom had eight points but committed 11 of Memorial’s 27 turnovers, which the turnovers turned into 22 points.

In the junior varsity contest, Warsaw cruised to a 51-12 win. Marin Hart led the way with 12 points for the Tigers, which held the Chargers to just four points in the first half.Zoe Bergan added 11 points and Cora West had nine points.

TIPPECANOE VALLEY 8TH GRADE 38, WHITKO 6

Valley had no trouble knocking off its neighbors to the east. Sidney Nelson paced Valley with 13 points and seven rebounds, Erika Henderson recorded nine points and Ava Smith had six points and eight rebounds.

TIPPECANOE VALLEY 7TH GRADE GIRLS 36, WHITKO 10

Valley stayed unbeaten a 3-0 with a big win over the Wildcats. Mackaylie Costello was the high point scorer in the game, hitting for 20 points to pace the Vikes. Costello added six rebounds. Lydia Craig added four points and 11 assists.