Stephanie Miller led Grace on Saturday with 19 points.

The Lady Tigers dropped their second game on their Wisconsin road trip, this time in heart-breaking fashion as Mount Mary hit a put-back as time expired to win the game 68-66.  Grace jumped out to a 35-27 halftime lead, but cold shooting again cost the Tigers, who found themselved down by as many as eight points in the second half.  They did fight back to tie the score with 20 seconds left in the game, but Mount Mary made the last play of the game to get the victory. 

The Tigers had four players in double figures led by Stephanie Miller with 19, Jessica Sikorski with 16, Marissa Pelletier with 13, and Kerie Rudd added 12.  Marissa Pelletier led the rebounders with 10. 

The Lady Tigers will return home to close out the regular season by taking on Marygrove on Tuesday, February 14. 

Kerie Rudd

The Lady Tigers traveled to northern Wisconsin to take on Northland International University on Friday.  The team expected to encounter extremely cold weather, but they didn’t count on it carrying over to their shooting in the game.  The Tigers could only manage 29% field goal shooting for the game and 17% from the three-point line, which led to the loss. 

Jessica Sikorski led the Tigers with 25 points and 14 rebounds.  Kerie Rudd contributed 15 points, 11 rebounds, and four assists. 

The Lady Tigers will travel to Milwaukee to take on Mount Mary College on Saturday. 

Stephanie Miller

It was “Senior Night” on Tuesday as the Grace Lady Tigers took down the cross-town rival Cougars from Kuyper College by the score of 71-48.  Kuyper kept the game interesting early by going 6 of 12 from three-point range in the first half.  The Tigers contributed to keeping the game close by missing several free throw opportunities and not playing great team defense as they went into the locker room with a 40-28 halftime lead. 

The Tigers clamped down on defense in the second half, limiting the Cougars to 20 points and did a better job of contesting their perimeter shots.  Grace was also 11-12 from the free throw line in the half as they pulled away to a comfortable margin. 

The three celebrated Tiger Seniors played key roles in the victory.  Jessica Sikorski led the team in scoring and rebounding with 25 points and 18 boards.   Stephanie Miller provided her usual support from beyone the 3-point arc and scored 15 points.  Naomi Walker played a strong defensive game on Kuyper’s scoring threats and displayed her usual leadership before, during and after the game while contributing two points, two rebounds, two steals, and two assists while only committing one turnover and one foul. 

“It was nice to see the seniors get a win on their special night,” Coach Renzema commented after the game.  “All three of them have been important to the school and to the basketball program in their own way.  It was great to see them be recognized for their efforts.”

The Lady Tigers will hit the road to Wisconsin this weekend as they attempt to lock up the #2 seed in the Midwest region.  They play a key game at Northland International University on Friday and will play at Mount Mary on Saturday. 

Naomi Walker

Jessica Sikorski

An outstanding effort on Saturday by the entire team.

The Lady Tigers had a six game winning streak come to an end on Saturday at the hands of  Indiana University Northwest by the score of 85-49.  The Tigers knew they were facing an uphill battle going into the game considering IU had defeated a NCAA D-1 team the prior week and won another game by close to 100 points.  Coach Renzema placed the focus of the game on leaving the gym as winners by playing hard for a full 40 minutes and never giving up despite what the scoreboard said. 

The game was played at Calvin Christian High School in Grandville, the alma mater of current player, Marissa Pelletier.  Marissa played well in her familar gym and led the Tigers with 14 points and 10 rebounds.  Jessica Sikorski added 11 points and 10 rebounds, Kerie Rudd had 10 points and seven boards, and Stephanie Miller played a solid overall game with nine points, all from beyond the 3 point arc. 

“I’m not usually big on moral victories, but in this case I am very pleased with how the girls played today.  I thought the effort was very good and we executed some good things on offense and defense.  There is no shame in losing to a team that is bigger, faster and more talented.” Coach Renzema said after the game. “We played and carried ourselves like winners today.” 

The Lady Tigers will next be in action on Tuesday when they host cross-town rival Kuyper at 5PM.  Come out early and support your Lady Tigers as they look to solidify their position in the NCCAA Midwest region.

Jessica demonstrates proper follow thru in an earlier game against Andrews.

On most days, the Grace women’s basketball team defeating Andrews University on the road, their sixth win in a row, would be a nice story.  Jessica Sikorski, however, added a significant side note to the game.  She became the leading scorer in the history of all women’s programs in the West Michigan area.  With her team-leading 25 points Tuesday night, Jessica surpassed Jen Rauch of Davenport University and now has a career total of 2424 points.

The Cardinals from Andrews put up a good fight in the first half as the Tigers fought for a 25-19 lead.   Grace continued the tough defense in the second half and got their offense going to finish off their hosts by a final score of 58-39.  Andrews only shot 21% from the field for the game compared to 38% for the Tigers. 

Other Tigers in double figures included Marissa Pelletier with 14 points and Kerie Rudd with 12.  Grace enjoyed a 48-37 rebounding advantage led by Jessica Sikorski with 16 and Marissa Pelletier with 11.

The Lady Tigers will next be in action on Saturday, February 4 when they take on formidable Indiana University Northwest at Calvin Christian High School.

Marissa Pelletier

The Lady Tigers made the five hour trip to Lincoln, Illinois without combo guard-forward Kerie Rudd, who was attending her sister’s wedding.  The Tigers were up to the challenge and came away with a decisive 67-44 victory over the hosts to post their fifth consecutive victory. 

The Tiger post tandem of Marissa Pelletier and Jessica Sikorski again showed their dominance and powered the way to victory.  Marissa led the way for Grace with 23 points and 15 rebounds.  Jessica posted her usual strong totals with 21 points and 16 rebounds.  Stephanie Miller contributed 11 points and six assists and Kara Cunningham scored nine points including a perfect 7 of 7 from the free throw line. 

The Lady Tigers will next be in action on Tuesday at Andrews University to take on the Cardinals.

Jessica Sikorski

The Lady Tigers opened up a little sluggish Thursday night at Great Lakes, falling behind 11-2 in the early going.  Fortunately, the team found their focus and overpowered Great Lakes by a final score of 81-43. 

Jessica Sikorski filled up the stat sheet again with 23 points, 17 rebounds and six assists.  Stephanie Miller added 19  points, including a scorching 5 of 6 from the three point line.   Marissa Pelletier also had 19 points to go along with eight rebounds.  Kerie Rudd played another solid game with 17 points and led the team with seven assists. 

The Lady Tigers continue their string of road games on Saturday, January 28 when they travel to Illinois to take on regional foe, Lincoln Christian.

Stephanie Miller

The Lady Tigers had four players in double figures, led by another strong performance from Jessica Sikorski to defeat the Cougars from Kuyper College, 62-37.  The game featured three unusually long scoring runs and fortunately, the Tigers had the last and decisive run to seal the victory.  After going down early 5-4, Grace went on a 21-0 run to seemingly take control of the game.  The Cougars came right back with a 19-0 run of their own.  The Tigers went to the locker room with a 30-24 lead. 

The Lady Tigers came out in the second half with an emphasis on offensive execution and better defensive intensity and opened up a commanding lead, outscoring the Cougars 32-13 in the second half. 

“We had way too many turnovers and rushed shots in the first half,”  Coach Rich Renzema commented. “We moved the ball a lot better in the second half and got some open looks against their zone.”

“We are thrilled to maintain possession of the Cross Cup.  The team has worked hard and it is nice to have a trophy in the case to show for that hard work.”

Jessica Sikorski led the Tigers with 24 points, 18 rebounds and six assists.  Other double figure scorers included Marissa Pelletier and Stephanie Miller each with 12, and Kara Cunningham with 10. The Tigers owned a commanding 49-21 rebounding advantage. 

The Lady Tigers will next be in action on the road Thursday as they take on Great Lakes Christian in Lansing.

Jessica gets 2 more.

The Grace women’s basketball team has been a quick starting team for most of their games so far this season.  Friday night was an exception to that rule.  Coming off an emotional and hard fought win the night before, the Lady Tigers looked a step slow in the first half of their game against midwest regional foe, Northland International University. 

Northland came out with their guns blazing and knocked down five three-pointers in the opening half to come away with a 33-31 lead at half time.  The Tigers made some defensive adjustments and rode their All-American, Jessica Sikorski, to take control in the second half.  Jessica scored 18 second half points and finished with 31 for the game.  She also grabbed 25 rebounds, including 20 on the defensive end to control the paint all game long. 

Kerie Rudd also had a nice game with 19 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.  She made a couple of nice driving layups late in the second half to help seal the victory.  Marissa Pelletier was also in double figures with 11 points.  Naomi Walker and Kara Cunningham each added four, and Stephanie Miller and Ashton Willis added two points apiece.

“We came out a little flat in the first half, which I almost expected to happen,” Coach Rich Renzema commented after the game.  “It is tough to come off an emotional and hard fought win the night before and come out with the same energy.  I am proud of the way they came out in the second half and gave it everything they had.  Jessica really controlled the inside tonight.  She was unstoppable and her rebounding on the defensive end allowed us to keep more pressure on their really good perimeter players.  I am very pleased with the two wins this weekend.  All of the girls did a great job.”

The Lady Tigers will take to the road next week as they play at Kuyper on Tuesday in the Cross Cup game.  Come out and support your Lady Tigers!!

Kerie Rudd

   

Kara Cunningham

Marissa Pelletier post up against Jacqui Mitchell of Moody Bible.

The first NCCAA coaches’ poll came out on Thursday and the Grace Lady Tigers came in at #8.  They wouldn’t have to wait long for the opportunity to move up as the #7 Archers from Moody rolled into town early Thursday evening.  Moody defeated Grace in a tightly contested game in the Tip Off Tournament in early December.  The Lady Tigers were coming off of their poorest performance of the season at IU Northwest on Tuesday and were looking to prove they were better than that showing.

Moody came out trying to use their size advantage to set the early tone of the game and jumped out to an early 13-7 lead.  Coach Rich Renzema used a time-out to re-emphasize some of the details of the new diamond and one defense implemented to help contain Moody’s strong point guard and minimize the damage that could be done by their front line that goes 6-3, 6-2, and 6-0.  The Lady Tigers responded well and actually opened up a double digit lead before heading ito the locker room with a 39-30 lead. 

The Tiger post tandem of Jessica Sikorski (Wyoming Park) and Marissa Pelletier (Calvin Christian), despite being much shorter than their opponents, worked well together and used their quickness advantage to get the Moody posts into foul trouble. 

Moody stormed back in the 2nd half and even took small leads on several occasions in the 2nd half.  The Tigers had even more adversity to overcome as Jessica Sikorski struggled with severe leg cramps and was unavailable for most of the last eight minutes of the game.  The Lady Tigers proved this was not a 1 person show and several girls made key plays down the stretch to come away with the hard fought victory.

Jessica Sikorski led the Tiger scoring with 21 points.  Marissa Pelletier played probably her best overall game in a Grace uniform with 17 points, 13 rebounds and tremendous defense.  Kerie Rudd (Battle Creek Pennfield) played another solid game with 18 points and nine rebounds. 

“I am very proud of the team tonight”, Coach Renzema said after the game.  “We played our best game of the year and the girls executed our offensive and defensive game plans very well, even some things that we had never even practiced.  I am very proud of how the team responded when Jessica wasn’t able to play.  This was a team win and every girl on the roster had a big part in this victory.”

The Lady Tigers won’t have long to celebrate as they take the court at the Aldrich Athletic Center again on Friday at 5 PM against Northland International University.

Naomi Walker

Ashton Willis played aggressively on defense.