Goshen, IN — As a large Roman Gingerich Center crowd listened to a moving tribute to seniors Jennifer Rupp and Teresa Bartal before Saturday’s final regular-season home game against Taylor University, it was apparent that the duo would end their playing careers as some of the finest people to ever wear the purple and white.

Perhaps Rupp, Bartal and their teammates were simply too nice.

Goshen (5-24, 1-14) allowed Taylor to shoot 26 free throws on the Leafs’ senior day, helping the Trojans erase an early deficit to squeak by with a heartbreaking 64-59 win Saturday afternoon. The loss knocked Goshen out of contention to qualify for the post-season Mid-Central Conference Tournament, as the Leafs’ current ninth-place league standing is now mathematically impossible to alter. With the top eight seeds making the tournament, Goshen’s season will conclude next Saturday in its final regular-season home game.

For Goshen head coach Steve Wiktorowski, it was a tough way to see his seniors go out.

“Jennifer and Teresa both played their roles extremely well today, but the story of the game was clearly at the foul line,” Wiktorowski said. “We allowed them entirely too many chances at the free throw line as we were really a step slow in rotating on the inside defensively. We competed well and put ourselves in a position to get the win, but our defense allowed them too many free throws and too high a percentage from the floor to complete the win.”

With Rupp and Bartal starting together for the first time in their playing careers, it was Goshen that opened with inspired play, staying step for step with Taylor throughout the game’s initial 15 minutes. A defensive slugfest comprised most of the first half, as a 16-16 tie score with 5:51 remaining was the seventh deadlock of a low-scoring first period. A three pointer by sophomore Jess Buller gave Goshen a 19-16 lead with 5:32 to play, while a layup from classmate Kelsy McKee extended the Leafs’ lead to 21-16 at the 3:40 mark. A pair of Taylor baskets closed the gap to a single point with 2:43 remaining, but a jumper from Buller and a layup by freshman Troyanna Scott gave Goshen a 25-20 lead at the intermission.

Taylor was held to just 22.9 percent shooting from the field in the first period (eight for 35), while the Leafs converted 10 of 26 from the floor (38.5 percent). Goshen’s lead could have been much larger had it not been for a woeful performance at the foul line, as Wiktorowski’s team could only cash in on three of 12 first-half free throws (25 percent).

“I thought we had good guard play, especially against their press, and we played excellent first-half defense in holding them to 20 points,” Wiktorowski said. “On the other hand, we shot very poorly from the free throw line, and that kept the game much closer than it could have been.”

That close proximity continued into the second half, as Goshen kept ahead of Taylor but only slightly. A five to nothing Trojan run to open play tied the game at 25-25, the eighth of 13 total ties on the afternoon. A three-ball from McKee gave Goshen a 28-25 lead with 16:22 to play, and from that point Wiktorowski’s team looked like a squad playing with urgency: Goshen captured a 35-29 lead with 13:28 to play following another Buller three, the team’s largest advantage in the second half. It was then that Taylor started to whittle away, however, as the Trojans began a series of recurring trips to the foul line.

After a three pointer by freshman Rachel Canen erased the 10th tie of the game at the 10:02 mark to give Goshen a 40-37 lead, the Trojans began to go to work on the interior. Taylor attempted 15 of its 23 second-half free throws in the period’s final eight minutes, thwarting a multitude of Goshen defensive stops. After yet another three from Buller at the 5:44 mark — she had four on the afternoon — tied the score at 48-48, Taylor converted a pair of freebies on its next trip to claim a 50-48 lead.

The Trojans never relinquished it.

Goshen would pull as close as one point on three occasions in the game’s final five minutes, but Taylor’s ability to get fouled and knock down charity shots proved too much. The Trojans scored just four baskets from the field in the game’s final six minutes, but got 11 points from the free throw line during that stretch.

For the game, Taylor converted on 23 of 26 free throws (88.5 percent) — including a 20 for 23 effort in the second half. Goshen, meanwhile, attempted just six freebies in the latter 20 minutes, making five for a total eight for 18 performance from the line (44.4 percent). Taylor was also able to heat up from the field in the second half, making 11 of 25 field goal attempts (44 percent) compared to Goshen’s 11 for 27 performance (40.7 percent).

Buller led all Goshen scorers with 16 points on six of 13 shooting from the floor and four of six from deep. McKee added 14 points on six of 12 shooting while Canen scored 10 points. Scott added eight points to go with four rebounds, while sophomore Carly Feldman scored six to go with a game-high eight boards. McKee finished with seven rebounds, while sophomore Sarah Arnold did not score but dished out a season-high seven assists.

Rupp and Bartal did not score, but both earned Wiktorowski’s praise following the contest. Bartal finished with one rebound in eight minutes of play, while Rupp grabbed two boards and dished out an assist in 20 minutes of work.

“Jess Buller really shot the ball well today, several of which bailed us out of pressure situations,” Wiktorowski said. “McKee and Canen continue to give us steady offense, and Sarah Arnold did a great job handling the ball. As for Jenn and Teresa, I'm not sure anyone but the coaches can really appreciate the contributions these two players have made to this program over the last four years. Jenn is the epitome of the type of first class person and student-athlete that we want representing our team. We all feel terrible that a knee injury severely hampered her final year (click here for related article), but greatly admire how she has handled this setback. And I've never seen a team respect a player more than our players respect Teresa Bartal. I believe this respect ultimately led to them overwhelmingly choosing Teresa, a senior walk-on who has a limited playing role on our team, to be a team captain this year. While these two young women may not be the most well known players in our conference, they are two players we all love, respect and will never forget.”

Now ineligible for the MCC Tournament (click here for tournament scenarios and explanations), Goshen will look to finish its season with a win on Saturday, when the team travels to eighth-seeded Grace College. Game time is set for 1 p.m. in Winona Lake.