SPRING ARBOR, MI – Jessica Garrison hit a 3-pointer on the first possession of the game and the Cougars led from tip to buzzer over a talented Grace Lancer basketball team.  The final score had Spring Arbor on top 83-70.

The first half was a closely contested 20 minutes of play with Spring Arbor leading by as many as nine points, but the pesky Lancers rallied late in the half to cut into the Cougars lead and by the end of the half, Spring Arbor led Grace 34-32 heading into the break.

Like she did in the first half, Garrison stung the Lancers with a 3-pointer to open the second stanza and Spring Arbor was off and running and midway through the second half, the Cougar lead was double digits (60-50).

Over the next five minutes of play, Grace wouldn't back down and cut the lead in half (65-60), but Spring Arbor pushed back as well and with 5:16 left in the game, SAU's lead was once again 10 points with the score 71-61.

The last five minutes of the game Carlie Newman and Jessica Mabry closed the door on any chance of Grace making a comeback as the pair combined for 12 Cougar points and giving up just nine to grace to make the final score 83-70.

Newman remained on form scoring a game high 27 points and Garrison also had a strong performance with 19 points and Rachel Driesenga added 14 points.  Kylie Townsley knocked down eight points and Mabry had her best collegiate game scoring seven points and played tenacious defense on the other side of the court.

Spring Arbor moves into a tie for fourth place in the Crossroads League with a 3-2 record along with Grace.  The Cougars improved to 9-7 overall.

The Cougars hit the road on Saturday, January 11 to face Taylor University for a 1:00 p.m. contest with the Trojans.