GOSHEN, Ind. — Goshen College dropped an 81-69 women's basketball decision to Grace College on Saturday in Crossroads League play at Gunden Gymnasium.

Claire Rauck scored eight points in the first quarter and finished with a team-high 17 for Goshen (1-17, 0-6), which knocked down eight of its 14 shots in the opening period en route to a 20-12 lead after 10 minutes.

Carley O'Neal added seven points in the quarter, scoring the first two and Goshen's last five. The Maple Leafs led for the entire period, save the 49 seconds before O'Neal's lid-lifter and a span of two possessions where the Lancers (9-9, 3-3) held a 5-4 edge.

Grace closed within two points at the 7:39 mark of the second quarter after starting the period with back-to-back 3-pointers. Goshen pushed the lead back as far as six points at 26-20. Sydney Stein and Keyaira Murff each went 2-for-2 at the foul line during that 6-2 run, starting a trend: the Maple Leafs would go 12-of-12 on free throws over the last three quarters.

Unfortunately for the hosts, Grace had a run of its own in the bag: the Lancers outscored Goshen 9-2, including five of Brooke Sugg's 16 points, to take their first lead at 29-28 in the final minute. The teams traded foul shots before Grace went into the locker room up 31-30.

The third quarter featured three ties and a half-dozen lead changes as Grace doubled its lead by outscoring Goshen 22-21. Seven Lancers found their way into the scoring column, with Pam Miller and Lexi Minix the only Grace players to score more than once from the floor. Rauck drained three triples to finish with five for the game: she led Goshen with nine points in the period. Miller pulled down six rebounds as the Lancers won the glass 10-5.

After the teams traded baskets to start the fourth quarter, Grace went on an 11-2 run fueled by nine points from Micaela Box to open a 66-55 lead with 6:27 left. Quickly, Goshen hit back to keep its head above water, using two 3-pointers of its own from Mariah Roe and a Keyaira Murff basket to close within five, 68-63, less than two minutes later.

Grace had one more move, a 9-0 run to open a 14-point lead with the clock showing 1:28. Four different Lancers scored while the Maple Leafs went 0-for-3 from the floor with a turnover during that three-minute stretch.

Donnae Lipinski scored Goshen's last six points to finish with eight: Roe scored 13 while O'Neal tossed in 11. Murff and Stein, who tossed in six points each, led the Maple Leafs with six and five boards respectively.

Grace shot 19-for-32 (59.4 percent) from the floor after halftime, including a 6-of-12 mark from long range, while holding Goshen to 43.6 and 34.8 percent in the same areas. Vironnica Drake led all scorers with 18 points and Box added 17.

Miller's 16 came in a different category: her rebound total tied for the second-best in a Crossroads League game this season. Twelve of those boards came after halftime. Box added seven caroms and Kelsie Peterson had six.

Roe and Miller each led their teams with five assists while Drake had three steals. Grace turned the ball over 13 times to Goshen's 12.

The Maple Leafs hit the road for three of their next four games and five of their next seven, beginning with a sojourn to Mount Vernon Nazarene University on Wednesday. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. in Ariel Arena.