Goshen, IN — In a game that looked fairly even on the stat sheet, it was the 12th-ranked Taylor University Trojans that put together the best numbers at the right time in an 81-61 defeat of the Goshen College women’s basketball team Wednesday night in the Roman Gingerich Center. After Goshen (8-13, 1-6) scored the game’s first five points, it was Taylor that put together a 23 to six run over the contest’s next 10 minutes, making the score 23-11. The Trojans would push its lead to 36-21 at the halftime break, as the Leafs could only connect on six for 28 shots from the floor (21.4 percent) in the first 20 minutes of play.

“This was another game where we did a lot of positive things, were pretty even statistically, and played very hard,” said Steve Wiktorowski, Goshen head coach. “We just struggled with shooting, especially in the first half.”

Goshen’s dismal offensive performance in the first period was complicated by Taylor’s 11 for 26 effort from the field (42.3 percent), while the Leafs managed just a single three-ball in 11 attempts (14.3 percent). Facing the need to force the action, Goshen came out with a much more aggressive defensive scheme in the second half, which led to some easy baskets: The Leafs shot 11 for 24 from the field (45.8 percent) in the latter period, and were only outscored by five points in the half.

Still, the deficit was too much to overcome. Taylor increased its shooting pace to 58.3 percent in the second period (14 for 24 from the field) while knocking in 13 of 15 second-half free throw attempts to keep its cushion in tact. And for the game, all statistical numbers were fairly equal for the two teams, save for shooting percentages. Taylor secured 13 offensive rebounds while Goshen snagged 12. The Trojans turned the ball over 17 times compared to the Leafs’ 19. Taylor scored 26 points at the free throw line while Goshen knocked in 21. The catch-all number was in the field goal category, where Taylor drilled a total 25 of 50 shots from the floor (50 percent) while Wiktorowski’s team could only convert on 17 of 52 (32.7 percent) on the night.

“We did a much better job in the second half of attacking and getting the ball inside against their zone and guarding their posts,” Wiktorowski said. “I also thought that (senior) Kortney Hanson made Liz Plass, the leading scorer in the conference and national player of the week, work very hard to get 12 points (on three of 11 shooting).”

Senior Candice Williams led the Goshen scoring pace with 15 points on five of 14 shooting from the floor. Hanson scored nine points to go with a team-high three assists, while senior Erin McDugle scored eight points and grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds. Junior Jenn Rupp and freshman Jess Buller also supplied eight points apiece, while freshman Kelsy McKee scored five points.

The contest was the first-ever televised game in the history of the women’s basketball program at Goshen, and will be aired tonight (Thursday, Jan. 13) at 7 p.m. EST on WHME TV 46. Check local listings for channel number and availability in your viewing area, or click here for more information.

Goshen will next take a break from the rough Mid-Central Conference schedule, as the team will travel to Taylor University-Fort Wayne on Saturday. Game time is set for 1 p.m.