College of Saint Mary set to host Grace in Midtown Matchup

Who: College of Saint Mary Flames (2-18) vs. Grace Royals (10-10)

When: 6 PM Friday, January 19

Where: Lied Fitness Center, Omaha, NE

Watch: Live Stream available at game time

There is no rest for the weary as the CSM Flames (2-18) of NAIA Division 2 host the Grace Royals (10-10) in Division 2 of the National Christian College Athletic Association. College of Saint Mary is 10-0 against Grace dating back to 2011.

For the Flames, this is game two of a home stand in which they play three games in four days. On Wednesday the Flames hosted #1 Concordia, and tomorrow they face Mount Marty College.

The Flames enter the contest on a seven game losing streak which includes battles against two top 10 programs in Concordia and #9 Dakota Wesleyan. The road gets no easier as four ranked teams are still in front of them.

College of Saint Mary does not lack the fight; they forced 20 turnovers with 11 steals against top-ranked Concordia and shot a respectable 41% from the field. The game, however, was lost on the boards. Concordia out-rebounded the Flames 53-29, and grabbed 25 offensive rebounds making way for many second chance points.

Grace enters the game on a three game winning streak, with all those wins coming on the road. One small caveat to that fact is the Grace University is two miles away from DJ Sokol Arena where they took on host Nebraska Christian College. Nebraska Christian's campus is 18 miles away from DJ Sokol.

Grace is in a tough spot as a program. The Royals have just nine games remaining in their program history; the school will be closing at the end of the school year due to financial issues. The Royals have certainly made the most of a bad situation; at 10-10, they have already guaranteed their most successful season in six years.

College of Saint Mary is led by seniors Miranda Acuna (15.0 PPG) and Tyler Sumpter (13.5 PPG), but the two were held to just 9 combined points against Concordia. Their game leaders on Wednesday were sophomore A'leah Davis (11 points) and junior Corryne Millett (14 points).

Grace University will be led by junior guard Karen Orozco, who has been averaging nearly 20 PPG on their current winning streak. Junior forward Marisa Brown has been averaging 15 rebounds per game in their last three games, as well.