Warfel Erupts for 40 Points in CL-Opening Win at Grace

WINONA LAKE, Ind. – Kaycie Warfel scored a career-high 40 points to lead the Taylor University women's basketball team to an 85-78 comeback victory over Grace in the Crossroads League opener for both squads Wednesday night at Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center.

With the win, TU remained undefeated at 6-0 (1-0 CL) and continued its best start under head coach Cassie Wiseman. The triumph also snapped a four-game losing streak in road games against the Lancers, with TU's first victory in Winona Lake since Jan. 8, 2022.

Warfel became just the second TU women's basketball player to hit the 40-point mark ever, and the first since the Crossroads League's all-time leading scorer Kendall Bradbury did so in the 2018-19 season.

Warfel put up a TU single-game record 37 shot attempts and tied the second-highest total for single-game made field goals by a Trojan with 14. The freshman guard is now averaging 33.2 points per game to lead the NAIA in scoring. She's posted 37 or more points in four of the previous five outings.

Madi Allen added 12 points with several clutch buckets late in the contest, while grabbing eight boards and three steals. Celina Blount grabbed 15 rebounds with five points, four steals and two blocks, while Quinn Kelly tallied 13 boards, three steals, two assists and two points. Emma Ancelet and Whitney Warfel chipped in with 10 and nine points, respectively, coming off the bench.

TU trailed by as much as 13 in the third quarter before climbing back to trail by a point, 63-62, entering the final period. From there, Warfel took over with TU's first seven points of the fourth quarter, and she closed it out by going 8 for 10 at the free-throw line over the final frame.

The Trojans withstood an 11-0 run by Grace to open the contest by responding to grab their first lead at the 1:36 mark of the first quarter on Ancelet's layup. That put the Trojans ahead 15-14 for a possession before trailing 18-17 after one quarter of play. TU wouldn't lead again until the final period.

Grace (5-2, 0-1 CL) stretched its lead out to double digits in the second quarter as the two teams combined for 31 turnovers and 4-of-24 (16.7%) shooting from three-point range before halftime. The Lancers led 42-31 with under a minute remaining until a three-point play for Warfel helped trim the halftime deficit to 42-35.

TU pulled within three points shortly after the break when Warfel's free throws made the score 44-41 with under eight minutes.

However, the Lancers grabbed momentum with a quick 10-0 run to move in front by 13 with the score 54-41 at the six-minute mark.

And just as quickly as the Lancers took control, the Trojans countered right back with a 12-1 run of their own. The spurt featured points scored by five different players to get the Trojans back within a point entering the final quarter.

Allen got the offense going with a pair of pull-up jumpers to make the score 61-56, and Kendall Sietsema made it a one-possession game with her layup at the 1:17 mark in the third period.

After Warfel pulled the Trojans back into the lead, Blount's trey in the fourth quarter kept TU ahead 74-72 and the Lancers pulled even at 74-74 before a timeout with 6:19 remaining. Kelly's putback layup after following up her own miss put the Trojans back in front for good with 5:16 to play.

A Grace 3-pointer pulled the hosts back within a point near the two-minute mark, but another pair of back-to-back jumpers from Allen followed by Warfel knocking down five free throws sealed the victory.

Overall, TU shot 33.3 percent on a Wiseman-era record 96 field goal attempts (32-96). Grace shot 42.6 percent (29-68) while both teams shot under 20 percent from three-point range.

TU knocked down 16 of 19 (84.2%) from the charity stripe compared to 65.2 percent (15-23) by Grace.

The Trojans held a firm 59-48 rebound advantage on the glass, while outpacing the Lancers in points off turnovers 30-24. The two teams combined for 55 total turnovers on the night with the Trojans forcing 33 takeaways.

Grace was led by Emma Sperry's 22 points and nine rebounds, along with Becca Gerdt (14 points) and Abbie Ritzema (11 points).

TU will return to action on Saturday when it welcomes No. 13 Indiana Wesleyan to Odle Arena, with opening tipoff for the Grant County rivalry matchup scheduled for noon.