SPRING ARBOR, Mich. – Sophomore Kylie Townsley scored a game-high 21 points and the Spring Arbor University defense swarmed Grace College from start to finish in a 61-52 win on Wednesday night.
The Cougars held the Lancers under 30 percent shooting and forced 20 turnovers to help snap their seven-game skid and earn their second Crossroads League victory of the season.
Townsley was 6-for-11 from the field and a perfect 7-for-7 from the free throw line while grabbing four rebounds and dishing out two assists. Junior Jessica Mabry followed with 11 points and senior Lindsey Burnside added eight points and nine boards.
Grace (13-12, 6-7 CL) led by three midway through the first half, but Townsley fueled an 11-0 run with nine points – highlighted by a pair of three-pointers – to give the Cougars a 19-11 advantage with 5:27 remaining in the opening half. After the Lancers had rallied back to regain the lead late, Mabry and freshman Autumn Goggin answered with back-to-back buckets to help give SAU a 28-24 edge at halftime.
Spring Arbor maintained its advantage through the early minutes of the second stanza. After the Cougars had pushed the margin to eight, Grace battled back to get within four at the 13:04 mark. However, consecutive triples from Aimee Konkel and Karly Bender extended the lead to double digits, and a 9-0 run moments later put the game away.
Spring Arbor shot 44 percent (24-for-54) from the field, including 46 percent (5-for-11) from behind the arc. The Lancers used their size to their advantage down low, out-rebounding SAU 48-31. The Cougars countered, though, with their tenacious defense and kept GC's Allison Kauffman – one of the Crossroads League's elite scorers – in check for the majority of the night, limiting the 6-foot-0 forward to just 13 points.
Three Cougars tallied seven points, including Bender who chipped in five assists. Goggin and Konkel also finished with seven points to round out the scoring.
Up next, Spring Arbor (7-17, 2-11 CL) will travel to Taylor University (14-11, 7-6 CL) on Saturday, Feb. 7. The game is scheduled to tip at 1 p.m.
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