(Box Score) Fort Wayne, IN — It was another uphill battle for the Goshen College women’s basketball team Tuesday evening, as eighth-ranked University of St. Francis “zoned” its way to a 74-42 win at the Hutzell Athletic Center in Mid-Central Conference play.

Goshen (3-8, 0-3) gave a monumental effort in the first half of play, keeping the game close at both the beginning and end of the first half. A 10-6 St. Francis lead ballooned into a 24-6 advantage midway through the period, but a 13 to four Leafs’ run to close the half made it just a 31-22 St. Francis lead at the intermission.

On this night, Goshen head coach Steve Wiktorowski would have to accept that effort as the place to build from.

“We got off to a very good start defensively and on the boards, so we were able to hang with them early,” Wiktorowski said. “We then had trouble penetrating their zone and so the lead started to get away from us. But we made a nice run at the end of the half to finish with some confidence.”

Goshen shot 40.9 percent from the floor (nine of 22) and held a 15 to 14 rebounding advantage over the Cougars at the break, including making a trio of three pointers to St. Francis’ one. The hosts were able to hang on to its nine-point advantage thanks in large part to a six for six effort from the free throw line, as Goshen attempted (and made) just one charity toss in the game's first 20 minutes.

After a second-half opening basket from sophomore Kendra Fights, Wiktorowski’s team was looking at a manageable 23-31 deficit on the scoreboard.

Pushing for an extreme upset — St. Francis moved up to a rating of fourth in the nation in Wednesday’s NAIA Top 25 Poll — Goshen could simply not keep up. The Cougars held Goshen scoreless until just 9:51 remained in the contest, reeling off 22 straight points to effectively put the game away.

“"In the second half they began to wear us down with their inside game and we didn't shoot very well nor take care of the ball,” Wiktorowski said. “We had a lot of trouble keeping the ball from their post players, so they had a lot of high percentage shots and free throws while we had to settle for too many jump shots. It took a lot of energy to concentrate on staying somewhat close to them in rebounding, but we weren't able to combine that with controlling the lane defensively. If they didn't score inside, we put them at the line, which accounted for their shooting 27 free throws to our nine.”

Goshen made just five of those free attempts (55.6 percent) while USF canned 19 of its own (70.4 percent). Perhaps the most telling stat of the game was a season-high 31 turnovers from Goshen; errors that allowed St. Francis a total 35 points off turnovers.

The Leafs did outrebound the Cougars by a 34 to 28 advantage, but Goshen’s shooting dipped in the second half (seven for 24, 29.2 percent) while St. Francis’ increased (14 for 26, 53.8 percent). The Cougars held on to at least a 25-point lead in the game’s final 12 minutes, outscoring Goshen by a 43-20 count in the final 20 minutes of play.

Junior Katie Sowers and freshman Kimmie Hummer led Goshen’s offensive pace, charting nine points apiece. Sowers tallied a game-high six rebounds. Fights added eight points and four boards, while senior Danielle Haney scored seven and secured four rebounds. Freshman Ashley Hummer scored six points.

It was the third time on the season that Goshen failed to post any players in double-figure scoring, but it was not the first time the squad had faced a ranked opponent: Wiktoowski’s young squad has now faced three ranked teams just 11 games into the season, including the current top team (Indiana Wesleyan University, click here for latest NAIA Top 25 Poll).

“I thought Katie Sowers probably played her best game of the year offensively and is becoming a more consistent player as she gets a better feel for our style of play,” Wiktorowski said. “Danielle Haney gave us a nice lift off the bench, especially late in the first half when we were most effective against their zone. Kendra Fights also gave us some good minutes off the bench and showed more assertiveness offensively. It was good for us to play against a very good zone defense which was hard to penetrate, especially combined with their press which eats time off the shot clock and leaves less time to attack the zone. Tonight's experience should make us more consistent in attacking both zones and presses in the future.”

Wiktorowski’s team will now complete first semester final examinations this week, and will return to the hardwood on Saturday. The team will then travel to Madonna University for a 12 p.m. contest.