(Box
Score) Goshen, IN — Looking to end its recent trend of poor starts, the Goshen College women’s basketball team appeared to have things figured out in the early goings of Saturday’s Mid-Central Conference tilt against Huntington University. After a defensive stop to open the game, freshman Kimmie Hummer buried a jump shot to give the Leafs a quick, 2-0 lead, and just two minutes later Goshen possessed a 6-2 advantage.
It was at that point that poor shooting and a lack of care with the basketball began to take over, however.
Huntington used a 12-0 run to turn a 6-2 Goshen lead into a 14-6 lead of its own, never looking back from that point in cruising to a 70-56 win at the Roman Gingerich Center. It was another case of Goshen (5-16, 0-7) having to overcome a poorly-played first half, as the Leafs scored just 19 points and turned the ball over 12 times in the fist 20 minutes of play, helping Huntington to a 34-19 advantage at the break. In Goshen’s last five games, the squad has been outscored by 60 points in first halves alone. The Leafs have been outscored by just 14 points in second-half play.
“In the past several games we have started to put ourselves in a hole the first half that is too big to dig out of in the second,” said Goshen head coach Steve Wiktorowski. “Today we did it again.”
Wiktorowski’s squad shot just four of 20 (20 percent) from the field in the first half after a three for six start, making just one of seven from three-point range (14.3 percent) in the process. Huntington, meanwhile, connected on 13 of 36 shots from the floor in the game’s first period (36.1 percent), committing just three turnovers en route to the 15-point halftime lead.
Goshen responded with a stellar second-half effort, but again it was too litte, too late. A 51.9 percent shooting clip from the floor and a total 40 to 28 rebounding advantage could not overcome the Foresters’ first-half dominance, as the Leafs’ 37-36 scoring advantage in the second half only equaled a 14-point defeat.
“We came out more focused on both ends the second half, took better care of the ball and began to score more inside and at the free throw line,” Wiktorowski said. “We almost doubled our shooting percentage and outscored them 37-36 the second half, but right now we are not a team that is good enough offensively that we can make up 15-point deficits like we faced at halftime.”
Huntington opened the second half by scoring the period’s first two buckets, opening up a 38-19 advantage, the team’s largest lead of the afternoon. Goshen’s best chance at a comeback came with 8:56 remaining in the contest, when a nine to two run turned a 53-35 Huntington lead into a 55-44 advantage. The Foresters scored the game's next five points, however, and coasted to the win down the stretch.
The Leafs were led by freshman Chloe VanDenBrink’s 15 point and seven rebound effort. Sophomore Krystal Duensing added 10 points and three assists, while Kimmie Hummer scored nine and dished out three assists as well. Sophomore Troyanna Scott scored four points and grabbed a game-high eight rebounds.
“Chloe VanDenBrink continues to give us consistent offense as a freshman, and she was tough on the boards,” Wiktorowski said. “(Junior) Katie Sowers especially played a strong first half, boarded well, and had her first game with no turnovers. (Sophomore) Kendra Fights did a nice job on the boards, but we didn't get her enough shots. Krystal Duensing played well considering she played with a very sore back. (Senior) Danielle Haney has played very well for us off the bench the past several games, as did Troyanna Scott today with eight boards in 16 minutes. Kimmie Hummer continues to improve as an overall player on both ends of the floor.”
Goshen will return to the Roman Gingerich Center Wednesday evening, when the team will host MCC foe Marian College. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
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Freshman Chloe VanDenBrink