Winona Lake, IN — Already mathematically eliminated from Mid-Central Conference post-season play, the Goshen College women’s basketball team arrived at MCC foe Grace College Saturday afternoon playing purely for pride.

What a strong motivator that can be.

Goshen (6-24, 2-14) collected its first road win of the season and second MCC victory with a thrilling, 70-66 double-overtime win over Grace Saturday, achieving the rare season-concluding win in the process. Through league tie-breaking procedures, Grace’s identical 2-14 league record was enough to move past Goshen for the final eighth-place slot in qualifying for the MCC Tournament, but the Leafs still persisted: A balanced scoring attack and a refuse-to-quit mentality gave head coach Steve Wiktorowski reason to smile after an injury-laden, disappointing season.

“I was proud of how we filled our roles today and battled in our final game on the road,” Wiktorowski said. “We pulled out a win where we could just have easily lost. It’s a testament to the fact that these girls did not give up throughout the year, even when things weren’t going our way.”

Things went neither teams’ way for much of the first half on Saturday, as Goshen’s 11 for 29 performance from the field (37.9 percent) bettered Grace’s woeful nine for 28 clip (32.1 percent), helping Goshen to a 26-25 halftime lead. Grace was able to take the largest lead for either team at the 6:41 mark of the period — a 21-15 advantage — though Goshen responded with a 11 to four run to close the period en route to taking the slim lead at the intermission.

“I thought we played well defensively, taking time off the clock with our press and keeping them somewhat off balance by constantly changing defenses in the half court,” Wiktorowski said.

The nip and tuck game would continue throughout the second half, as neither team would lead by more than four points at any time with the score being a one-basket difference for the majority of play. Perhaps the biggest difference as the game wore on was Goshen’s ability to get to the free throw line, as the Leafs attempted 29 of their season-high 33 freebies after the conclusion of the first half. Unfortunately for Wiktorowski, the team was only able to convert on 17 of those attempts, a paltry 51.5 percent shooting clip from the line that kept the game tight.

“We took pretty good care of the ball and were able to draw a lot of fouls, but we didn’t take good advantage of our free throw opportunities,” Wiktorowski said. “Both teams hit some key second-half shots, but we hit a couple key free throws late when we really needed them to pull out the win.”

Sophomore Kelsy McKee came up with perhaps Goshen’s biggest bucket of the night, drilling a three pointer with 3:11 remaining in regulation to tie the game at 48-48 after a Grace run had given the Lancers a 48-45 lead with 3:36 to play. Incredibly, McKee’s trey set up a melodramatic final three minutes of play, where the teams combined to miss the final five shots from the floor and commit three turnovers, keeping the game tied at 48-48 to head into overtime.

In the first extra period, it was Grace that came alive offensively, scoring the first three points of the stanza to grab a 51-48 lead just 25 seconds into the action. A basket by sophomore Carly Feldman cut the hosts’ lead to just one point with 4:07 on the clock, but back to back baskets by Grace — couple with a pair of free throws — helped the Lancers to a 57-53 lead with 1:49 on the clock.

After Goshen was able to cut the lead to three points following a Feldman free throw, Grace got to the charity stripe and cashed in on both, making the score 59-54, Lancers with 1:03 remaining. Freshman Troyanna Scott was able to muscle in an interior basket with 46 seconds to play, making the score 59-56, and the Leafs needed a stop.

Freshman Rachel Canen made it happen.

Coming up with perhaps the biggest steal of the season for her team — Goshen had 11 on the afternoon — Canen was able to take the ball away from Grace’s point guard and return it to the Leafs’ end of the floor. Following a timeout with 18 seconds remaining, Wiktorowski designed a play for sophomore Jess Buller.

Her three-point attempt with seven seconds on the clock hit nothing but the bottom of the net, tying the game at 59-59 and sending it to a second overtime.

Again, Grace came out strong, scoring the first bucket of the extra, extra period. Goshen responded with a basket of its own, however — Canen buried a jumper with 4:16 on the clock — tying the game for the 14th time of the afternoon. After getting a defensive stop on Grace’s next possession, sophomore Sarah Arnold calmly drained a jumper with 3:23 on the clock, giving the Leafs a 63-61 lead.

It was a lead the team would not surrender.

A layup by McKee on Goshen’s next trip pushed the advantage to 65-61, while another defensive stop followed by a pair of free throws from Canen made it a 67-61 lead. Grace then became the aggressors, going to the line on its next two possessions and converting all four freebies to pull within two, 67-65 with 1:20 on the clock.

Arnold was fouled on Goshen’s next trip, but her two free throws were off the mark. Grace responded with another aggressive drive to the basket, resulting in another trip to the free throw line. After making one of two, Goshen held just a 67-66 advantage with 1:03 on the clock.

McKee got open for a three on the Leafs’ next possession, but her shot rimmed out. The same was true for Grace on its next trip, as Arnold came down with the all-important defensive board with 30 seconds remaining. Lancers’ pressure allowed Goshen an opportunity to push the ball, and McKee found Canen streaking to the basket for a 69-66 lead with 20 seconds remaining.

Grace missed a three-point attempt on the ensuing possession, and again Arnold secured the loose ball — her sixth rebound of the game. After being fouled upon collecting the board, Arnold would have another chance to ice the game at the line.

She missed the first but buried the second, giving Goshen a 70-66 lead with just four seconds remaining. Grace’s final three-point try was off the mark, and Goshen had escaped with its first road win of the season.

Feldman led the way with 15 points and 11 rebounds for Goshen, making five of 12 shots from the field. Scott and Canen each finished with 12 points, while Arnold and McKee each added nine. Senior Jenn Rupp was a perfect three for three from the floor in her final collegiate game, scoring six points and grabbing two boards in nearly 20 minutes of work.

“After a tough first half, Carly Feldman came back and played strong in the second,” Wiktorowski said. “Scott came in off the bench and backed her up very well. Arnold took good care of the ball and she and Canen played solid perimeter defense. Jenn Rupp gave us some good minutes and first-half scoring in her final game. Buller and (freshman) Kendra Fights did a good job of splitting time at the four spot. In all, it was good to see us play with some confidence down the stretch. We’re obviously unhappy about not making the conference tournament, but ending the season on a win at least gives us something to build on during the off-season.”

Goshen now turns to an important off-season of training and recruiting, as the Leafs will return a remarkable 96.6 percent of its scoring and 97.2 percent of its rebounding to next year’s team. Check back to this website for the latest off-season news, including team information and recruiting updates. To contact Steve Wiktorowski, call him at (574) 535-7492 or click here to send him an email.