LAWRENCE TECH WOMEN’S BASKETBALL 68, GRACE 59

A slow start was hard to overcome for Grace’s women’s basketball team on Friday as the Lady Lancers fell 68-59 against No. 21 Lawrence Tech.

Grace was outscored 20-10 in the first quarter, and the Blue Devils (5-1) refused to yield the lead.

The Lady Lancers (2-4) struggled mightily with their shot all night. Grace shot just 33 percent from the floor overall, 16 percent (6-of-37) from the 3-point line, and 42 percent (5-of-12) from the free throw line.

Vironnica Drake poured in a career-high 24 points. She shot 11-of-20 from the floor, hauled in nine rebounds and nabbed two steals.

The first quarter on Friday started evenly with the teams knotted at 10-10 after seven minutes of play. But the Blue Devils erupted over the final 2:30 of the quarter, racking up 10 unanswered points in a furious finish.

Grace did its best to rally from that 20-10 deficit, but the Lady Lancers never tasted the lead again.

In the second quarter, Grace’s defense locked in. The Blue Devils were held scoreless for the final 5:17 of the period, but the Lady Lancers were unable to take advantage.

Grace trimmed Lawrence Tech’s lead down to nine, but the Lady Lancers also hit a scoring drought late in the second quarter. The Lady Lancers did not score a point for the last four minutes of the half, entering halftime behind 33-24.

Drake did her best to lead Grace to a fourth-quarter rally; the junior scored nine of her game-high 24 points in the final stanza.

Drake scored six quick points early in the quarter, and Pam Miller hit two free throws to chop the Blue Devils’s cushion down to 61-56 with 2:04 remaining.

But Grace missed on four field goals over the last two minutes and was unable to complete a comeback.

Brooke Sugg scored 13 points and four assists with a trio of 3-pointers, Kaylie Warble had six points and 10 boards, Miller scored seven points, and Kamryn Hostetler added 4 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists.

The Lady Lancers will wrap up the Leah Whitaker Tournament, hosted by Indiana Wesleyan, on Saturday against Holy Cross at 1 p.m.

GRACE MEN’S BASKETBALL 93, CONCORDIA 90 (OT)

Grace’s men’s basketball team remained undefeated this year courtesy of a 93-90 overtime win against Concordia on Friday night at the Trinity International Tournament.

The Lancers improved to 4-0 on the young season.

Stats from the game were not immediately provided.

Grace will wrap up the Trinity Tournament on Saturday, squaring off with Emmaus at 2 p.m.