Box Score
GOSHEN, Ind. – Despite thirty-five points of the bench, the Goshen College women's basketball team dropped a 66-77 Mid-Central Conference tie against visiting Huntington University Wednesday night.
Looking to avenge a 75-64 loss to Huntington on January 19th (click here for related article), the Maple Leafs fell behind early and never fully recovered. The Forresters hit 19-of-22 free throws in the second half to hold on for a nearly identical score line as the away contest.
"Their shooting from both the 3-point and free throw lines were clearly the difference tonight," explained Head Coach Steve Wiktorowski. "Statistics say they don't shoot a lot of threes or make them that well, but they certainly did tonight. Their guards penetrate very well and we tried to focus more on keeping them outside, but they shot the ball very well from the perimeter- especially at key points of the game."
The Maple Leafs' only lead of the contest came right at the start as a steal by Lindsay Gangloff would turn into a Cassie Greives lay up for a 2-0 advantage. The Forresters would respond by going on a 14-3 run to open an eleven-point lead.
Goshen was able to cut the lead down to four late in the opening half after a long ball from Kendra Fights and a lay up from Ashley Hummer made it 22-26 with 2:38. Right on queue, Lauren Davenport responded with a 3-pointer as the Forresters were able to stretch their lead back to ten by halftime. Huntington hit 6-of-9 from behind the arch in the first half.
Huntington started the second-half hot and pushed their lead to as many as nineteen. A 10-2 run by the Maple Leafs late in the half brought the deficit back to just six points with 3:15 to play.
A series of missed shots by Goshen forced them to foul and the Forresters put the game away by hitting 11-of-13 from the line in the final three minutes.
"They really cashed in from the line when we had to start fouling," added Wiktorowski. "We were making a good run at them at the end, but we couldn't quite get over the top because of their free throw shooting. Otherwise, I thought both teams competed very hard and statistically were very even."
Kendra Fights led the way for Goshen, hitting 7-of-12 from the field – including 6-of-7 from long range – while scoring 20 points. Krystal Duesning added thirteen points as the Maple Leaf bench contributed 35 points. Ashley Hummer added eleven points for Goshen. Jenna Donaldson hit 8-of-12 from the field for a game-high 22 points for Huntington.
"I was especially happy with our bench play tonight," continued Wiktorowski. "Kendra Fights has been doing some good things the second half of the season. Krystal Duensing took good care of the ball and I thought her knee looked more solid in cutting than it has since her injury. Erica Emanuel and Leah Lehman gave us good lifts both halves with their energy and defense."
"We have a tough minded Marian team coming in on Saturday to finish the regular season. They have been playing very well lately and will be looking for revenge of a defeat we handed them at their place earlier this year. Katie Sowers, our only senior, has been very important to this team as a leader this year and we want to fight hard and hopefully send her out on a winning note and improve our seeding for the conference tournament. It will be a big game."
Game time is set for 1 p.m. on Saturday. Join the Maple Leafs as they celebrate Think Pink Day, raising awareness and funds for breast cancer research. Admission is free, with a $2 donation, for anyone wearing or bringing something pink to the contest.
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Junior Kendra Fights