Fort Wayne, IN — A winter storm may have put the clamps on the Goshen College-University of St. Francis women’s basketball game actually happening on Saturday afternoon, but it could do nothing to slow down the Cougars’ offense. Forced to play the contest Monday night after the host school officially closed on Saturday due to the snowy weather, it was St. Francis that came out on all cylinders, knocking in 21 of 30 first-half shots (70 percent) to stun Goshen in a 79-53 Cougar win.

“The outcome was quickly determined as they shot lights out at the start,” said Steve Wiktorowski, Goshen head coach. “They are the number one offensive team in the conference, and it showed tonight.”

St. Francis missed just three two-point field goals in the entire first half of play, going 13 for 16 from inside the arc (81.3 percent) while knocking in eight of 14 from behind it (57.1 percent). Add in a single free throw taken and converted, and Wiktorowski’s team was looking a 26-51 halftime deficit dead on.

“I really didn’t think our defense was that bad,” Wiktorowski said of the first-half barrage. “Their offense was simply that good.”

Goshen (10-14, 2-7) was able to take an early 3-2 lead after freshman Kelsy McKee buried the Leafs’ first shot of the game, but it was a short-lived advantage. St. Francis simply did not miss — including hitting eight of its first 10 shots from the floor — en route to a 25-point halftime lead, the Cougars’ largest advantage to that point.

St. Francis would build its lead to a 34-point cushion eight minutes into the second period (a 69-35 lead), but the Leafs would eventually tighten the screws defensively. The Cougars only converted nine of 32 second-half shot attempts (28.1 percent) allowing Goshen a chance to stay with the host team the remainder of the way. The Leafs connected on 10 of 28 from the field (35.7 percent) in the second half and 21 of 58 (36.2 percent) for the game, but St. Francis’ first-half was simply too much to overcome.

“We got our offense operating better in the second half and they only outscored us by one point, but the first half was too great an obstacle against that talented team on their home floor,” Wiktorowski said. “Their outside game killed us in the first half, and their inside game kept things even in the second.”

Goshen was led by seniors Erin McDugle and Candice Williams, as the pair scored 11 points apiece in the loss. Classmate Kortney Hanson and McKee each chipped in seven points, while freshman Carly Feldman scored six points to go with five rebounds.

“Our scoring was balanced and I was very happy with only 14 turnovers against their very quick guards,” Wiktorowski said. “I didn't think we rebounded badly overall (33 total boards, including 11 on the offensive end) considering there weren't many of their balls to rebound the first half. I thought we were a little intimidated by them with their start, but we came back and did a better job of executing our own offense the second half. Hopefully that second half attitude will carryover to two more home games yet this week.”

Saturday’s game postponement to Monday night now puts the Leafs in an NBA-like schedule mode for the remainder of the week, as the team will face Spring Arbor University on Wednesday night and Marian College on Saturday. Fortunately for Wiktorowski’s team, both Mid-Central College contests are at home. Wednesday’s game against the Cougars of Spring Arbor is slated to begin at 7 p.m.