Wyoming, MI - The Grace Christian women's team played in the NCCAA DII Regional tournament this weekend, hosted at the Aldrich Athletic Center. After taking down Emmaus Bible College in the first game, they ultimately lost to Kuyper College in game two, ending their season.

Game 1

Facing Emmaus Bible College in the opening round, the Tigers came out guns ablaze and jumped out to a 17-12 lead after the first quarter. However, the Eagles of Emmaus fought back in the second quarter, taking the lead, 28-27, going into half. Grace scored another 17 points in the 3rd quarter to regain the lead, and the 4th quarter saw several lead changes before coming down to the last several minutes. The dagger by Grace came with just over 2 minutes left when Jada Reese scored back to back field goals to put the Tigers up 5. Grace would close it out in the final minute, winning 57-53.

Jada Reese led the scoring in this game with 25 points including a team leading 12 rebounds. Lily Helmuth followed up with 15 points of her own, and Zyan Tatum had 8 points to go along with 4 steals. 

Game 2

The girls picked up right where they left off in the semifinal game against Kuyper College. Grace led 25-23 at halftime. However, the Cougars found new life in the locker room, and came out in the 3rd quarter with renewed energy. Kuyper regained the lead and never looked back, outscoring the Tigers by 14 in the second half to come out on top, 59-47. 

Lily Helmuth led the way in scoring with a double-double including 17 points and 10 rebounds. Jada Reese, not to be outdone also had a double-double including 14 points with an eye-popping 20 rebounds. Julia Schultz hit two clutch 3 pointers in the game, giving her 6 points on the night. 

With the loss, Grace Christian concludes their 2023-2024 campaign. A hard-fought season, the girls showed perseverance and grit. Coach Dennis Graham picked up his first career win at the helm of the program, and is confident about the future of the program. 

"The future is bright for this team," Graham says. "We set a foundation for our culture this year and made a lot of improvements with our girls. A strong recruiting class will come in next year and give us the depth that we were lacking this year. We can't wait to get back to work."