Lake Wales, FL — The Goshen College women’s basketball team may have come up just short in searching for a win at the Warner Southern College Tournament last weekend, but a welcomed situation greeted the team following the losses.

Sunny skies and temperatures in the mid-70’s always seem comforting this time of year.

Goshen (1-14, 0-4) dropped two games — a 57-65 decision to the host Royals Friday night and a 43-72 loss to St. Petersburg College Saturday evening — but enjoyed seven full days in the Florida sun last week, putting an enthusiastic conclusion to the pre-Christmas portion of the 2005-2006 schedule. Head coach Steve Wiktorowski said that despite the pair of losses, the swing southward could be therapeutic for his team in many ways.

“This was just a great experience for our girls,” Wiktorowski said. “We played against quality competition, we had a lot of fun and it was a great experience for our players to spend time and grow closer with each other. I firmly believe that activities like this pay off for a team down the road. It was a combination of a fun and bonding experience that brings everyone closer together. Everyone left the airport talking about our next trip down here. We all had a really, really good time.”

The Leafs’ games may have been the primary purpose for the trip, but five full days away from the court made it anything but the solitary one. After arriving late on Wednesday, Dec. 14, the squad prepped for its Friday-Saturday event Thursday. Following the weekend games, Wiktorowski, staff and players spent a full four days bouncing around central Florida, hitting Winterhaven, Sarasota and Orlando.

“We stayed in some very nice hotels in a variety of different cities and hit some attractions and sites that are a welcomed change from the current climate back in Goshen,” Wiktorowski said. “It was a great social experience for our players.”

Wiktorowski’s team narrowly missed a chance at a win Friday evening, when the team’s second-half effort was just short of knocking off Warner Southern. After trailing 28-36 at the break, Goshen knocked in 12 of 26 shots in the second period (46.2 percent). Unfortunately, Warner Southern was able to get to the free throw line 16 times in the final stanza, keeping a valiant Leafs’ effort from coming to fruition. The Royals made just eight of 25 attempts from the field (32 percent) in the game’s final 20 minutes, but an 18 for 24 overall performance from the free throw line helped overcome shooting difficulties. Goshen attempted just five free throws, making three.

Freshman Rachel Canen led a balanced scoring attack in the loss, notching 18 points on eight of 13 shooting. Sophomore Carly Feldman added 14 points and seven rebounds, while freshman Kendra Fights tallied 12 and six boards. Goshen won the battle of the glass by a 37 to 32 count, but committed 20 turnovers to Warner Southern’s 15.

In Saturday’s consolation game, Goshen ran into a solid St. Petersburg College squad. That didn’t stop the Leafs from making things competitive early, as Goshen trailed by just a 19-23 count at the half. St. Pete turned up the defensive pressure in the second period, however, forcing an eventual 33 Goshen turnovers en route to the 29-point win.

After converting 11 of 39 first-half attempts (28.2 percent), St. Pete ignited to a 20 for 32 second-half performance (62.5 percent), outscoring the Leafs by a 49-24 count in the game’s final 20 minutes.

Canen again led Goshen in scoring, charting 16 points on six of 12 shooting from the field. Sophomore Kelsy McKee scored 10 points on four of nine shooting, while Fights provided eight points. Feldman scored seven to go with a team-high seven rebounds. Following her impressive two-day display, Canen was selected to the all-tournament team.

“From a basketball standpoint, I thought we competed very well in three of the four halves we played,” Wiktorowski said. “I felt that Rachel Canen especially had a strong tournament and was a strong offensive force while scoring from various places on the floor. Carly Feldman also continued to show improvement as she played with very good concentration on both ends of the floor and had her most consistent offensive efforts to date. Kendra Fights played a lot of quality minutes as well and is getting back to being the aggressive player she was at the start of the season. Everyone got to play and contributed to our team effort. I hope this on-court experience and our recent improving play will now continue when we return to play soon after Christmas.”

Wiktorowski’s team used the four days following the tournament for site-seeing and relaxation, hoping to put an injury-plagued, disappointing first half of the season behind them. As a result, the team traveled to Universal Studios theme park and Siesta Keys over the remaining days, enjoying the warm weather and camaraderie before returning to Goshen late Wednesday night.

“One of the highlights for the girls was spending time and catching some sun on the beautiful beaches of Siesta Keys near Sarasota,” Wiktorowski said. “It is one of the top beaches in the U.S. They also enjoyed some great shopping experiences in Siesta Keys and an unbelievable mall in Orlando. We had some great meals as well, including an Amish buffet in Sarasota and a great sports restaurant in Orlando run by the NBA. They finished the trip by spending the day at Universal Studios in Orlando where they enjoyed many thrill rides and movie theme related experiences.”

Now back in Goshen, the team will take a brief break for the Christmas holiday before returning to campus to host Siena Heights University on Thursday, Dec. 29. Game time is set for 7 p.m. in the Roman Gingerich Center.