WINONA LAKE, Ind. – The Spring Arbor University women's basketball team dropped Grace College 71-67 inside the Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center on Wednesday night, giving the Cougars their first win in Winona Lake since the 2007-08 season.
Sophomore Aimee Konkel and junior Jessica Mabry combined for 12 points during a key 14-5 second half run that carried the Cougars to their first Crossroads League victory of the season.
After taking a 4-0 lead to start the game, Spring Arbor surrendered seven straight points to Grace. However, the Cougars answered with a quick 6-0 run to jump back in front and would not trail the rest of the half.
Grace (8-9, 1-4 Crossroads League), trailing by four in the final minute of the period, knocked down a three-pointer to get within one, but freshman Autumn Goggin came right back with a triple of her own. Senior LeAnn Porter would add a free throw just before the horn to give SAU a 35-30 advantage at the break.
Grace got off to a hot start to open the second stanza, scoring nine unanswered points to grab its largest lead of the game, 39-35. Senior Lindsey Burnside and Mabry ended the dry spell, though, with back-to-back buckets to even the game at the 16:18 mark.
The two teams continued to trade blows over the next six minutes, battling to a 50-50 tie with 10:21 remaining. That's when Konkel and Mabry took over, scoring a combined 12 points during a 14-5 run over a five minute span.
The Lancers had one more run in them, however, and narrowed the gap to three with 57 seconds left on the clock. Burnside would help seal the win for the Cougars, though, hitting three free throws down the stretch.
Spring Arbor finished the night hitting 44 percent (14-for-32) of its shots while holding Grace to 38 percent (25-for-66). The Cougars forced the Lancers into 23 turnovers and converted those giveaways into 14 points. The home team controlled the glass, however, doubling up SAU in rebounding 44-22.
Sophomore Kylie Townsley and Mabry paced the Cougars with 18 and 17 points, respectively. Konkel added 12 points and three assists off the bench while Burnside and freshman Faith Johnson tallied nine points apiece. Burnside also posted a career-high three blocks.
Spring Arbor (6-10, 1-4 Crossroads League) returns home to host Taylor University (10-7, 3-2 Crossroads League) on Saturday, Jan. 10 at 1 p.m. before welcoming No. 7 University of Saint Francis (Ind.) (13-4, 4-0 Crossroads League) on Wednesday, Jan. 14 at 7 p.m.
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