(Box Score) Goshen, IN — Facing its second solid opponent in just a 72-hour stretch, the Goshen College women’s basketball team looked the part of a squad nearly out of gas, falling to 14th-ranked Aquinas College by a 53-80 score at the Roman Gingerich Center Saturday night.

After expending much energy in coming nearly all the way back from a 22-point deficit at Siena Heights University on Thursday (click here for related article), Goshen (2-2, 0-0) could not duplicate the same resiliency Saturday, falling behind 14-3 just six minutes into the game and never truly getting back in it from there.

“I was very happy with our effort tonight and thought we had some good stretches of play,” said Steve Wiktorowski, Goshen head coach. “But right now, with our extreme youth, it is difficult for us to execute offensively on a consistent basis against a team with that kind of experience and nationally-ranked level of talent. I see enough good things to keep us very optimistic that we will be a greatly improved team as the season moves along. We just need to keep playing hard against this level of talent and I think our patience will begin to be rewarded by being competitive for a full 40 minutes against good teams. We have some ability, we just need to learn how to play with teams that also have ability, and that takes time.”

Wiktorowski’s team actually captured an early 3-2 lead after a made three-pointer by freshman Ashley Hummer, but five turnovers and two missed shots on the team’s next seven possessions helped Aquinas open the flood gates. A 12 to nothing Saints’ run made it a 14-3 contest with 14:46 remaining in the first half, and Goshen would get no closer than eight points the rest of the way. Aquinas captured a 19-point advantage with 1:48 remaining in the first half, but a five to nothing Goshen run to close the period cut the score to 39-25, Aquinas, at the break.

It appeared the Leafs would hang with the visitors at the outset of the second half — freshman Kara Boester drained a period-opening three-ball to make it a 39-28 Saints’ lead — but Goshen simply did not have enough left in the tank. After freshman Chloe VanDenBrink’s layup pulled the Leafs to a 41-30 score with 17:32 remaining, Aquinas slammed the door closed. An ensuing 18 to two Saints’ run made it a 59-32 contest with just under 13 minutes remaining, and Goshen would get no closer than 24 the rest of the way. The Saints eventually pushed to a 35-point lead — 80-45 with 2:20 to play — but settled for the final 80-53 victory.

Goshen was led by sophomore Troyanna Scott’s 11 points on three of six shooting. Ashley Hummer chipped in 10 points while sophomore Krystal Duensing dropped eight. VanDenBrink added nine points and a team-best six rebounds.

The Leafs committed a season-high 26 turnovers in the loss, helping Aquinas to 14 more shot attempts from the floor. Those mistakes offset a reasonable clip from the field (17 of 40, 42.5 percent) and from three (four of nine, 44.4 percent).

“I didn't think any one player really stood out and thought everyone gave us some positive aspect of play either just offensively or defensively, and in some cases both,” Wiktorowski said. “Some people who I felt really raised their level of play from the previous game were Chloe VanDenBrink, Kara Boester and (junior) Katie Sowers. I thought we rebounded well against a much bigger and stronger team. We didn't shoot that badly, especially from the arc, but turnovers caused us to not have nearly as many shot attempts as Aquinas. As has been the case the past several games, we showed improved play from the first half to the second. Now we just need to put two halves together and not play from behind against these types of good teams.”

Goshen will face another test upcoming, as the team will travel to face a very athletic Indiana Tech squad on Wednesday. Game time is set for 7 p.m.