The Grinnell College women's basketball team gave unbeaten Coe College all it could handle for much of Saturday afternoon's game, but in the end the host Kohawks pulled away for a 70-54 victory at Cedar Rapids.

Coe, off to its best start in school history, improved to 8-0 on the season while the Pioneers fell to 1-7.

Grinnell used a strong showing in the first half to grab a 30-29 lead at intermission. The Pioneers led just once in the early going, that being 5-4 on a 3-pointer by Jodi Watkins '09 at the 18:51 mark. But Coe took off and built its lead as large as 11 points when a jumper by Amber Karkosh at the 12:52 mark made it 18-7.

But that's when Grinnell roared back, putting together a 12-2 run to pull within 20-19 with 7:52 left. Hannah Wolf '08 had a pair of baskets during the spurt, Watkins and Laura Burton '08 had 3-pointers and Brianna Gallo '11 a basket. Coe still held the advantage for the next few minutes and was up 27-23 when Grinnell tallied five straight points to take a 28-27 lead. Jessica Shotts '10 had a basket and free throw during the run and Wolf a bucket. After Coe retook the lead, Wolf hit a jumper with :56 left to account for the halftime cushion of one.

After the hosts took the lead early in the second half, Wolf drove for a layup to draw Grinnell even for the final time at 32-all with 18:31 left. But that's when Coe countered with a key 11-0 run to grab a 42-32 lead with 15:14 remaining.

Grinnell did make a few more charges after that, including a 7-1 run to make it a 43-39 game at the 13:39 mark. Wolf had a trey and jumper during the run and Kate Norton '11 added a layup. The Pioneers were still hanging close a bit later when Wolf's jumper made it 49-44 at the 11:11 mark, and came even closer when Watkins' 3-pointer at the 7:30 mark made it 54-51. But Coe took off once again, reeling off 14 straight points for a 68-51 lead with 1:51 left. Wolf led Grinnell with a game-high 24 points to go along with eight rebounds. Gallo added five assists and three steals. Karkosh led all scorers with 23 points, while Brittany Norris of the Kohawks grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds.

The Pioneers don't play again until after the new year when they make a two-game road trip to California where they'll play Caltech and Whittier.
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