(Box Score) Upland, IN — A stellar first 10 minutes of play was not enough to yield the Goshen College women’s basketball team its first road or conference win of the season Wednesday, as the Leafs dropped a 62-81 decision at Mid-Central Conference foe Taylor University.

Goshen (5-15, 0-6) hung with the host Trojans for the better part of the first period, trailing by just two points with 11:29 remaining and by only three points with 8:33 to play in the first period. Taylor finished the half with a 16 to six run, however, turning a nip-and-tuck ballgame into a 42-29 difference at the break.

Despite a bettered effort defensively in the second half according to head coach Steve Wiktorowski, Goshen’s futility on offense kept the squad from making a serious push at the hosts: Goshen knocked in just 10 of 34 shots from the field in the latter 20 minutes (29.4 percent), falling behind by as many as 30 before whittling the difference to 19 toward the game’s conclusion.

“We shot the ball well the first half and were able to stay close, but we played defense and rebounded very poorly, especially about the last five minutes of the half, allowing them to shoot even better,” Wiktorowski said following the contest. “We talked a lot at halftime about increasing our focus and effort in those two areas. I thought we did that and were more difficult to play against the second half. Unfortunately, we didn't shoot nearly as well, and so while we played them more evenly, we were not able to cut into the lead and make a serious run.”

Taylor opened the game with a 9-2 lead just two minutes in, and had captured an 18-10 lead with five minutes elapsed, but Goshen remained poised. A driving bucket and a three pointer from sophomore Krystal Duensing pulled Goshen to within an 18-15 score, and traded baskets resulted in a similar margin four and a half minutes later — Taylor led 26-23 with 8:33 to play in the first half. It was at that point that the Trojans began to slowly pull away, scoring 16 of the game’s next 22 points for a 13-point halftime lead. Taylor limited Goshen to no offensive rebounds during that stretch, grabbing three offensive boards on its end of the floor.

And while Goshen’s rebounding and defensive intensity may have increased in the final 20 minutes of play, its shooting did not. The Leafs paltry second-half shooting helped Taylor build from a 48-37 lead with 14:05 to play to a 74-44 advantage with 6:25 remaining on the clock, a 26 to seven run that salted things away for the hosts. Goshen was able to slowly pull back to a respectable margin, getting all the way back to a 19-point deficit before the final horn sounded.

Wiktorowski elected to look at the competitive level of his squad during the game’s second half, as Goshen was only outrebounded by a 22 to 16 margin in the final 20 minutes. The squad suffered a 20 to nine differential before the halftime break.

“It was good to see us pick up our performance on the road the second half and compete somewhat more closely to the way we are capable,” Wiktorowski said. “They have a very balanced offensive attack, and it is difficult to shut down either the inside or outside game without being hurt by the other. We did a decent job with turnovers, were perfect in 12 free throw attempts, and matched them with shot attempts, but simply struggled keeping the scoring pace in the second half.”

Sophomore Kendra Fights led the Leafs’ offensive efforts, charting 17 points on a six of nine shooting performance from the field. Freshman Chloe VanDenBrink added 12 points and three assists, while Duensing scored 8 and dished out three helpers as well. Freshman Ashley Hummer scored 10 points and grabbed three rebounds, while junior Katie Sowers did not score but corralled a team-leading six boards.

Goshen committed just 16 turnovers on the night (Taylor had 15 errors) and made all 12 of its free throw attempts.

“I was very happy with Kendra Fights’ effort tonight and thought she may have had her best performance on both ends of the floor this year,” Wiktorowski said. “She is working hard to become a better defender and I thought she made (Taylor’s Katie) Madden work hard inside. I also thought that (senior) Danielle Haney gave us a big lift off the bench with her defensive intensity, as did (freshman) Kara Boester with her ballhandling and shooting. I also thought the Hummer twins and Chloe Vandenbrink played well and more aggressively the second half.”

Goshen will return to the Roman Gingerich Center next, as MCC foe Huntington will visit the Maple City on Saturday. Game time is set for 1 p.m.