(Box Score) Goshen, IN — A second half in which the Goshen College women’s basketball team shot 55.6 percent from the floor helped the squad to its second home win in as many attempts Wednesday night, as the Leafs handed visiting Siena Heights University a 73-63 defeat in come-from-behind fashion.
Goshen (2-2, 0-0) trailed by a 35-30 score at halftime, but was able to get clicking on offense late to defeat the Saints going away.
“I thought we were very flat the first half and played with little emotion or awareness on defense, and I felt they played harder than we did which I never like to see,” said Steve Wiktorowski, Goshen head coach. “But to the credit of our players, they regrouped at halftime and came out and exerted much more energy and focus.”
A late first-half run from Siena Heights was largely responsible for the Leafs’ deficit at halftime, as a 15 to one Saints’ run turned a 27-20 Goshen lead with 6:02 remaining into a 35-28 Siena Heights advantage with just 1:16 to play in the first period. A layup from sophomore Lindsay Gangloff finally ended the drought with 38 seconds on the clock, providing the 35-30 halftime score.
Wiktorowski’s team came out with urgency to start the second period, scoring eight straight points after giving up a Saints’ layup to open play. Goshen captured a 38-37 lead just two and a half minutes into the second half, but Siena Heights would not go quietly: A relentless pressing defense helped spurn the visitors to a 46-41 lead with 14:21 to play, while the Saints’ advantage was 50-45 with 10:56 remaining.
Back to back threes from sophomore Ashley Hummer quickly changed the complexion of the game, however, as Goshen reclaimed a 54-53 lead with 7:42 to play. Interior baskets from junior Kendra Fights and freshman Cassie Greives kept the Leafs ahead for the remainder of the game, while success at the free throw line — Goshen made eight of 12 freebies in the game’s final 59 seconds — iced things.
“They were hurting us with cuts and drives the first half, and I thought our zone defense cut that down quite a bit the second,” Wiktorowski said. “We also did a much better job of working the ball inside ourselves and Ashley Hummer hit a couple big threes to keep their defense honest. We did a much better job tonight of getting to the free throw line ourselves and limiting them at the line, even though our posts were in foul trouble the first half. I also thought we did a good job of handling the physicality of their defense and getting the ball inside for some scores against their press the second half. It was good to see our young team struggle to play well but yet still be determined to find a way to win in a sort of grind it out type of game.”
Greives led Goshen’s scoring efforts, charting a career-high 15 points to go with seven rebounds. Junior Krystal Duensing scored 14 points and handed out three assists, while sophomore Kimmie Hummer added 10 points on a three for five effort from the floor.
Senior Katie Sowers, Ashley Hummer and Fights all scored nine points in the win, providing Wiktorowski with his most balanced scoring output of the season to date.
“I thought Cassie Greives had a very nice game and her inside presence has really added a new dimension to our team,” Wiktorowski said. “She was efficient inside and shot her free throws with confidence. Kendra Fights also did some good things inside despite seeing limited action the first half because of fouls. Everyone did a nice job of rebounding as one of our goals coming in was to outrebound two opponents in a row. I also thought Lindsay Gangloff gave us a nice lift off the bench tonight for the second game in a row. We shot well the second half but have to score more than 20 points off 34 free throws.”
Goshen will have a quick turnaround time before its next competition, as the team will travel to Elgin, Illinois this weekend to take part in the Judson University Tournament beginning Friday. The Leafs will face the hosts in a 7 p.m. (EST) contest Friday night. The team will then take on Odyssey — an exhibition opponent — Saturday at 1 p.m. (EST).
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Freshman Cassie Greives