WINONA LAKE – A second-half collapse foiled the Grace College women’s basketball team’s plans to upset No. 10 Marian on Wednesday night.

The Lady Lancers led by as many as 16 points in the second half, but Marian pulled off an improbable rally to escape with a 66-60 victory.

Grace, coming off a 10-point upset of then-No. 7 St. Francis, seemed well on its way to a second straight NAIA Top-25 upset. The Lady Lancers were in command, leading 53-37 with 12:00 remaining in the contest after a basket from Sarah Feasby. But Grace’s offense was about to go ice cold.

Over the ensuing 5:25, Grace managed to score just one point. Marian, in the meantime, closed the gap to 54-49 with more than 6:00 left on the clock.

The Lady Lancers (9-9, 2-4 Crossroads League) found a brief respite from their scoring slump when Kelsie Peterson and Gabby Bryant buried back-to-back 3-pointers, bumping Grace’s cushion back up to 60-51 with 5:21 left in the game. But Grace did not score another point for the final 5:21 of regulation, paving the way for the Knights’ comeback.

The Knights (15-2, 4-2 CL) closed the game on a 15-0 run to rally for a six-point victory. Grace went 0-for-7 from the floor with four turnovers and zero free throw attempts during the fateful final five minutes. Conversely, Marian was 6-for-8 from the floor with zero turnovers and four free throw attempts during that stretch.

The game started at a rapid pace. Grace implemented a fullcourt press for the entire half, forcing Marian into 11 first-half turnovers.

The Knights held an 11-7 lead after four minutes of play before Grace seized control of the contest. Grace used a 17-3 run to grab a 10-point lead. The Lady Lancers’ charge was sparked by a trio of 3-pointers by Allison Kauffman, Bryant and Peterson.

Peterson, who netted 18 points in Saturday’s upset of No. 7 St. Francis, led all players with 13 points in the first half. She outscored the Knights 10-2 at one point in the first half as Grace earned a 36-25 advantage at halftime.

Peterson finished Wednesday’s game with a career-high 19 points, racking up five 3-pointers with five steals. Kauffman and Feasby each tallied 11 points and five rebounds, and Lindsey Schaefer added six points and 10 boards.

Grace finished the game with 25 turnovers and shot 39 percent from the floor. Marian had 18 turnovers and shot 48 percent for the game, including 15-of-23 (65 percent) in the second half.

The Lady Lancers will try for another upset on Saturday when No. 19 Huntington visits the Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center for a 1 p.m. matchup.