Fort Wayne, IN — With a brutal pre-conference schedule and the always-tough Mid-Central Conference giving the Goshen College women’s basketball team no recourse this season, the Leafs were in dire need of a win facing the Taylor University-Fort Wayne Falcons Saturday afternoon. And, despite a scrappy effort by the host team, the Leafs recorded a 70-63 victory, snapping a three-game losing slide in the process.

“This was a win that we really needed,” said Steve Wiktorowski, Goshen head coach. “Taylor-Fort Wayne is a vastly improved team and played well today on their home floor. We have struggled with our confidence lately, so I hope this win will help lift our play to a higher level as we re-enter the conference portion of our schedule.”

Goshen (9-13, 1-6) jumped out to an 18-7 lead over the Falcons to start the day’s contest, but Taylor-Fort Wayne would not go away quietly. The Falcons shot 11 for 28 from the floor in the first half (39.3 percent), but the Leafs’ seven for eight performance from the charity stripe in the first period (87.5 percent) gave Goshen a 32-26 lead at the intermission.

Wiktorowski’s team caught fire from the field in the second period, shooting 14 of 23 from the floor (60.9 percent) in looking to blow the game wide open. Again, however, Taylor-Fort Wayne found a way to stay close. Despite senior Erin McDugle pouring in a game-high 24 points — her second highest point total of the season — the Falcons used a 15 for 28 performance from the field (53.6 percent) in the second half to keep within striking distance. The Leafs needed a pair of big three-pointers from senior Kortney Hanson and freshman Kelsy McKee over the final six minutes of play to maintain its comfortable cushion, and Goshen made a total 14 of 18 charity tosses (77.8 percent) to salt away the Falcons’ pursuit.

“I thought we got off to a strong start offensively, but we lost some of our concentration and let them come back,” Wiktorowski said. “That gave them a lot of confidence and we were never able to really shake them. But, we did do a good job of getting the ball inside to McDugle and hitting our free throws late to take care of the win.”

McDugle recorded her 24-point outburst on a nine of 13 shooting effort, which included a perfect six for six performance from the free throw line. McDugle also grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds in 33 minutes of work, while Hanson (six of 10 from the field, two of four from three-point land) recorded 15 points and McKee 10. That duo also grabbed seven rebounds apiece. Senior Candice Williams scored seven points in the win, while freshman Sarah Arnold tallied six points.

“I thought the key to our win was the play of Erin McDugle and Sarah Arnold in the second half,” Wiktorowski said. “Sarah took care of the ball and ran the offense well, especially in getting the ball to McDugle. Ashley Woodlee was active in our match-up zone and (junior) Jennifer Rupp had a solid floor game.”

Goshen will look to begin a winning streak when it returns to MCC play on Wednesday, as the team will travel to Grace College. Game time is set for 7 p.m.