Sophomore guard Gabby Bryant makes a move for Grace College during a 65-61 win over Spring Arbor Thursday night (Photo provided by Grace College Sports Information Department)

WINONA LAKE – A second-half surge from the Grace College women’s basketball team helped the Lady Lancers to a 65-61 win over Spring Arbor on Thursday night.

The Lady Lancers (13-12) moved into a tie for third in the Crossroads League with Indiana Wesleyan at 9-4 in league play.

Senior standout Juaneice Jackson led all players with 22 points and a career-high 11 rebounds, and Allison Kauffman added 17 points to lift Grace to a comeback victory over the Cougars (10-14; 4-9 CL).

Grace doubled Spring Arbor in production in the paint, outscoring the Cougars, 40-20. Grace also had a 19-4 advantage in bench points.

Spring Arbor lit up the scoreboard from beyond the arc in the opening half. The Cougars scored over half of their points from the 3-point line with eight treys in the first 20 minutes.

Grace hit a dry spell with 12 minutes to play in the first half, making just one field goal over nearly seven minutes. Spring Arbor used Grace’s struggles to fuel a small lead, going ahead 40-35 at halftime.

The score remained tilted in Spring Arbor’s favor until a decisive run five minutes into the second period. The Lady Lancers made a decisive 14-2 run over an eight-minute span, sparked by eight points from Kauffman, to flip a seven-point deficit into a five-point cushion at 55-50.

Grace built its lead up to seven with two minutes remaining, but the Cougars made a desperate push to cut the gap to two with nine seconds on the clock. Kauffman then iced the victory with two free throws.

With one more league victory, the Lady Lancers will tie the program record for most league wins in a season (10-8 in 2011-12).

Grace turned the ball over 11 times in the game but just three times after halftime. Despite shooting just 39 percent from the floor, Grace outshot Spring Arbor (37 percent). The Cougars were stifled into 28-percent shooting in the second half.

Jackson reached double-digit rebounding for the first time in her career. Kauffman’s 17 points came on 7-of-13 shooting, Sarah Feasby produced nine points and six boards in 15 minutes, and JoEllen Fickel added six points and two blocked shots.

The Lady Lancers’ five-game winning streak will be put to the test on Saturday when they host No. 1-ranked St. Francis (25-0) at 1 p.m. The men’s Grace/St. Francis game will follow at 3 p.m. in a doubleheader at the Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center.