(Box Score) Fort Wayne, IN — As the Goshen College women’s basketball team made its way into the Indiana Tech gymnasium for a pre-game shootaround Wednesday night, Leafs’ head coach Steve Wiktorowski stopped underneath one of the baskets and paused.

Perhaps he had a premonition the game would be decided in that vicinity.

Goshen suffered a 66-87 loss to Indiana Tech in Fort Wayne Wednesday night, thanks largely to the host Lady Warriors dominating the glass in all aspects: Goshen was outrebounded by a 55-34 margin in the defeat and gave up 30 offensive boards, the most second-chance attempts in Wiktorowski’s five years at the helm of the Goshen program.

The difference in rebounding helped offset what otherwise was a solid effort from a young Leafs ball club, as Goshen (2-3, 0-0) limited Indiana Tech to just 40.7 percent shooting for the game and forced 20 turnovers.

“There were some positive things in this game for us in that we saw some improvement overall in playing against a very athletic team that played very hard this night,” Wiktorowski said. “But clearly our downfall was rebounding where we were clearly outclassed. We fought hard for rebounds but were fundamentally weak in defensive rebounding and gave up 30 offensive boards. We had a couple players banged up and aren't very deep, but we fought hard to the end and improved our execution as the game went on.”

The rebounding difference gave the hosts more plentiful opportunities throughout the contest, as Indiana Tech attempted 41 shots from the floor compared to Goshen’s 24. Still, the Leafs fought hard, getting more trips to the free throw line (21 shots compared to Tech’s 17) though Wiktorowski’s team actually made one less charity toss than the Lady Warriors (14 to 15).

Goshen stayed close to Tech throughout the majority of the first half thanks largely to a solid defensive effort, as the team forced eight first-half turnovers. Tech only connected on 26.8 percent of its first-half shot attempts (11 of 41), but those 30 misses had to be rebounded. Tech collected 18 offensive boards in the game’s first 20 minutes of play, leading to a 39-28 lead at the break.

“We got off to a good start and were able to hang around most of the first half,” Wiktorowski said. “We made them take the shots we wanted to and held them to 27% shooting the first half.”

Indiana Tech eventually heated up in the second period — the team made 22 of 40 second-half shots for a 55 percent clip — keeping Goshen at bay down the stretch. The Leafs were led by freshman Ashley Hummer in the second half, who scored 13 of her team-high 16 points in the latter period. After committing 16 turnovers in the first half, Wiktorowski’s team made just nine errors in the second.

Hummer achieved her team-high scoring behind a four of six effort from the floor and a six for six tally at the free throw line. Junior Katie Sowers scored 11 points and grabbed a game-high eight boards. Sophomores Krystal Duensing and Kendra Fights each scored eight points in the loss. Classmate Troyanna Scott chipped in seven points and six rebounds in 20 minutes of work.

“Ashley Hummer had a strong second half, and Katie Sowers continued to find her niche on this team and infused us with her energy,” Wiktorowski said. “Kendra Fights and (freshman) Chloe VanDenBrink both had some strong minutes. (Freshman) Kimmie Hummer and Krystal Duensing both did a credible job handling the ball against their relentless trapping defenses. We feel if we can stay healthy, that between now and Christmas this young team can make great improvement by playing teams like this. I think playing this kind of competition on the road will really help us prepare for the heart of the conference season starting in January.”

Goshen will again take to the road in just two days, as the team will compete in this weekend’s Malone College Tip-Off Classic beginning Friday at 7 p.m. The Leafs will face Geneva College in the tournament’s second game Friday. Malone will take on Daemen College in the event’s opener at 5 p.m.