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DEC.
4 — Goshen Drops Overtime Heartbreaker At Marian
Williams'
career high can't get Leafs past controversial call in 80-77
OT loss |
Indianapolis, IN — Saturday at
Mid-Central Conference rival Marian College, the Goshen College
women’s basketball team did nearly everything it could to
win a road-game in the ever-tough MCC: It built a lead. It fought
back after a strong Marian comeback. It grabbed a late-game lead.
It didn’t get the final call it needed to seal the win.
Up by a 67-66 score with just eight seconds to play, Goshen (6-5,
1-2) was on the wrong end of a block-charge call that gave the
host Knights a chance to win the game with just two seconds remaining
in regulation. Marian was able to convert on one of two freebies,
sending the game to extra minutes at a score of 67-67.
“Overall, I felt this was our best effort of the year, “ said
Steve Wiktorowski, Goshen head coach. “A very difficult call
went against us when we had a lead at the end of the game, and
that helped send the game into overtime. We have to just keep battling,
as we are obviously improving steadily, and hope that the breaks
will turn in our favor next time.”
It didn’t appear the Leafs would need breaks of any kind
in the early goings of Saturday’s contest, as Goshen vaulted
to an early 18-9 advantage just 11 minutes into the game. Wiktorowski’s
team pulled to a 39-29 lead with just 35 seconds remaining in the
first half, but a Marian three-pointer with 12 seconds left made
the score 39-32 at the intermission.
“We came out and played our best half of the season to start
the game with good offensive execution,” Wiktorowski said
of his squad’s 15 for 28 effort from the floor (53.6 percent)
in the first period. “We were able to defend them fairly
well and build a lead, which was largely due to our efficiency.”
It was Marian, however, that stole the show to start the second
half, putting together a 17 to four run in taking a 49-43 lead.
Goshen then struggled, trailing by a 57-47 count with 8:55 to play.
The Leafs could only convert on nine of 30 second half attempts
(30 percent), and it looked like Marian would run away with its
second conference win of the year.
That’s when Goshen began to get to the free throw line, where
seven charity connections — Goshen shot 26 of 30 from the
line on the afternoon (86.7 percent) — helped erase the deficit.
Senior Erin McDugle buried a huge three-pointer with 48 seconds
remaining that cut Marian’s lead to 66-65, but the 2003-2004
MCC Player of the Year wasn’t finished. McDugle was able
to collect a Marian pass attempt on the ensuing possession, and
she raced to the other end for a layup.
Score the basket, plus a foul.
With a 67-66 Goshen lead in hand, McDugle could not convert the
free throw with eight seconds remaining. With the Knights’ securing
the rebound, controversy was soon to follow. Marian’s Katie
Stadler drove to the basket hard with two seconds remaining, and
went hard into McDugle. Expecting an offensive foul, Wiktorowski
raised his fists.
McDugle was called for the block.
Stadler had a chance to win the game, but could only convert one
of her two free throws (Marian finished 11 for 14 at the foul line
for the game, a 78.6 percent clip). The fourth tie of the game
would lead to overtime.
In the extra stanza, the teams traded baskets until just under
the one-minute mark, when McDugle had her shot blocked with the
score 78-77, Marian. The Knights connected on a pair of free throws
with 18 seconds to play, and Goshen’s final possession was
defended well: Needing a three, freshman Kelsy McKee could only
get off a 15-foot attempt as time expired, a moot basket had it
gone in.
The gut-wrenching loss put a damper on a spectacular game from
senior Candice Williams, who scored a career-high 27 points on
seven for 14 shooting — including a 13 for 15 effort from
the free throw line — to go with six rebounds. McKee added
19 points on six of 11 shooting, while McDugle tallied 16 points
in 35 minutes of work. Goshen was outrebounded by a 46 to 28 count,
but the Leafs only committed nine turnovers on the afternoon, a
season-low for Wiktorowski’s team.
“Again, I felt we gave our best effort of the year, but just
couldn’t
get it done at the every end,” Wiktorowski said. “Williams
looked like the offensive player she was last year, McKee was aggressive
and took the ball to the basket, we took care of the ball better
than in any game this year. McKee also did a great job in holding
the leading scorer in the conference (Marian’s Kristi Koselke)
to just 10 points, and junior Ashley Woodlee also defended and
rebounded well. We’re getting better. We just need to keep
working at it.”
Goshen will come off of final examination week to host fifth-ranked
Indiana Wesleyan University on Thursday night in the Roman Gingerich
Center. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
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  Senior
Candice Williams
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