Goshen, IN — As eighth-ranked Indiana Wesleyan University steadily pulled away from the Goshen College women’s basketball team Wednesday night at the Roman Gingerich Center, the reasons for the Wildcats’ increasing lead changed with the time.

In the first half, it was 18 Goshen turnovers that hindered the squad.

In the second half, the Leafs scored just three field goals in 19 attempts, a 15.8 percent shooting percentage.

In the end, however, it was the collective talent of Indiana Wesleyan that handed Goshen its worst loss of the season, a 39-79 drubbing that was never close.

“I thought we played hard and tried to follow our game plan defensively, but they had too many people shooting well so it was difficult to cover them both inside and outside,” said Steve Wiktorowski, Goshen head coach. “(Indiana Wesleyan’s) switching, man-to-man defense really gave us problems. Our lack of offense just put way too much pressure on our defense to hold that quality of a team down.”

Goshen (5-21, 1-11) scored the game’s first basket — a layup by sophomore Carly Feldman — in what would be the Leafs’ only lead of the evening. Indiana Wesleyan responded with baskets on its next four possessions, claiming an 8-2 lead with just under five minutes elapsed and never looking back.

Wiktorowski’s team may have actually remained close throughout the first half if it wasn’t for an incredible 18 turnovers, as Goshen was on fire when the team actually got a shot off. The Leafs knocked in an amazing 64.3 percent of its tries in the first period, but that clip came off of just 14 attempts (the team made nine) compared to Wesleyan’s 16 for 32, 50 percent, first-half field goal numbers. As a result, Goshen trailed 22-42 at the half, the Wildcats’ largest lead to that point.

“Feldman and (freshman Troyanna) Scott gave them some problems inside early on, but we really struggled with turnovers and shooting from the perimeter, especially in the first half,” Wiktorowski said.

With an emphasis on eliminating turnovers in the second period, Wiktorowski’s team took care of business. Goshen committed just eight giveaways in the latter 20 minutes — for a total of 26 turnovers on the night — but the team couldn’t make the most of more shot opportunities. Wiktorowski’s team made just three shots from the floor in the second half (a season low), going zero for six from three-point range as well. Even free throws were hard to connect for the Leafs in the second half (Goshen was 11 for 18 from the charity stripe in second-half play, 61.1 percent) as Indiana Wesleyan steadily increased its lead.

Goshen’s last field goal of the night came at the 13:36 mark in the second half, as the Wildcats 30-point lead was cut to 56-28 on a layup by junior Danielle Haney. From that point, the Leafs’ only offense came at the free throw line, as the team made all 11 second-half free throws in the game’s final 12:34. Wesleyan went on to lead by as many as 42 points (a 77-35 advantage at the 3:09 mark) before settling for the 79-39 final.

“If we could have generated more offense, I think our defense would have been more effective,” Wiktorowski said. “We have been working very hard on mental preparation leading up to games, and concentration during games. We worked hard to do both well tonight. It was much more of a physical problem in that we couldn’t physically match their offensive skill level tonight. If we can get more of a balanced inside-outside attack going, then we can get right back on track because the effort is really there, and I am really proud of that.”

Feldman led all scorers in the game, finishing with 16 points on seven of 11 shooting. She also grabbed a team-high six rebounds. Scott added nine points on two of three shooting from the floor and a five for eight effort from the line, securing five boards as well. Sophomore Jess Buller and freshman Rachel Canen were next in the scoring column with just five points each, while Haney and freshman Kendra Fights each chipped in two points, rounding off Goshen’s scoring. Sophomore Kelsy McKee was held scoreless for the first time this season and for just the second time of her young career, missing just one shot from the field. She had two rebounds.

Indiana Wesleyan was consistent shooting from the floor throughout the contest, finishing a total 30 of 58 (51.7 percent) and nine of 26 from three-point land (34.6 percent). Conversely, Goshen shot just 12 of 33 overall for the game (36.4 percent) and one of nine from deep (11.1 percent). IWU outrebounded Goshen only slightly (30 to 25 overall and nine to seven on the offensive glass) but held a major advantage in turnovers committed (Wesleyan made just 10 mistakes to the Leafs’ 26).

Goshen will look to rebound on Saturday, when the team travels to face Bethel College, the only squad it has defeated thus far in Mid-Central Conference competition. Game time is set for 1 p.m. in the Wiekamp Center.