Lexi Minix and Grace couldn’t catch Taylor in a 86-75 loss Wednesday night. (File photo by Mike Deak)

TAYLOR WOMEN 86, GRACE 75

Grace’s women’s basketball team was unable to upset No. 15 Taylor on Wednesday in an 86-75 defeat.

The Lady Lancers (8-2, 1-1 Crossroads League) played evenly for three of the four quarters, but a strong second quarter from the Trojans (10-0, 2-0 CL) made the difference.

Taylor shot well from beyond the arc, making 16-of-34 (47 percent) of its 3-pointers. Grace, on the other hand, made just 25 percent of its 3-pointers and 56 percent of its free throws.

Vironnica Drake filled the stat sheet with 18 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals, and Kamryn Hostetler had 15 points, 6 assists, 4 boards and 4 steals.

Taylor scored the first five points of the game, but Grace kept the score close. Lexi Minix hit a triple to spark a 7-0 run, and Brooke Treadway’s basket gave the Lady Lancers a one-point lead.

The Trojans ended the quarter with a short spurt, leading 23-18 by the end of the first quarter.

The second quarter was Taylor’s best. The Trojans outscored Grace by 11, hitting six 3-pointers in the frame.

By halftime, Grace found itself in a 49-33 hole. Taylor made 51 percent of its shots in the half and had a 26-13 edge in rebounding.

The Lady Lancers were unable to make a dent in Taylor’s cushion during the third quarter and still trailed by 17 entering the fourth stanza.

Grace continued to apply pressure and outscored Taylor by six in the fourth, but the damage was already done. The Lady Lancers battled until the final buzzer as evidenced by a steal and fastbreak layup by Grace at the final buzzer.

Hostetler shot 6 of 12 from the floor for her 15 points, and Kyannah Stull had 14 points and four boards.

Kaylie Warble finished with 14 points and six rebounds, Maddie Ryman had 6 points, 3 assists and 2 steals, and Micaela Box ended with three points and six boards.

“I loved the way we played today. I think there were a lot of positives to take away for our team,” said Grace head coach Dan Davis. “Hats off to Taylor who shot well tonight and has a really good team. We didn’t shoot the ball great tonight and missed some layups and free throws that we would normally make. Our defense had great energy tonight, and we’ll look to carry that over to Huntington on Saturday.”

The Lady Lancers play No. 21 Huntington on the road on Saturday at 1 p.m. It will be the second of three straight ranked opponents that Grace plays on the road.

TRITON GIRLS 42, LAVILLE 23

Lexia Hostrawser had 12 points, three rebounds and three steals to lead Triton to its first win in the Hoosier North Athletic Conference this season. Triton led just 23-19 heading into the fourth quarter before outscoring the Lancers 19-4 in the final eight minutes.

Hostrawser shot 50 percent from the floor (4-8) and hit four of five free throw attempts.

Abbey Viers had eight points and Taren Yates added seven points and four rebounds for the Trojans.

Triton shot just 33 percent from the floor (14-42), but made the most of LaVille’s sloppy ball handling, turning 26 turnovers into 18 points. Triton had just 11 turnovers on the night.

Allison Medors led LaVille with 11 points and eight rebounds.

LaVille won the JV matchup 39-14.

WARSAW 9TH GRADE BOYS 36, FORT WAYNE CARROLL 33

A steady diet of consistency helped Warsaw to a win in freshman hoops at Warsaw.

Warsaw posted quarters of 12, 10 and 10 points to keep a six-point lead into the final quarter to hold off the Chargers. Russ Winchester led the Tigers with 13 points and Dimitri Chandler was right behind with 12 points.

TRITON 6TH GRADE BOYS ‘A’ 32, TIPPECANOE VALLEY 27
TIPPECANOE VALLEY 6TH GRADE BOYS ‘B’ 18, TRITON 15

Valley had Gage Overbey and William Mellott combine for 15 points in the ‘A’ game and Nash Bouse score six in the ‘B’ game.

TIPPECANOE VALLEY 7TH GRADE BOYS 37, NORTHFIELD 26

Dallas Miller led the Vikings in the win with 11 points, Ian Cooksey right behind with nine points.

TIPPECANOE VALLEY 8TH GRADE BOYS 39, NORTHFIELD 29

Valley pulled out the eighth grade win behind 12 points from Landon Durkes, 11 points from Kyler Johnson and eight points from Wade Jones.