(Box Score) Elgin, IL — With just one second remaining in Friday evening’s contest at Judson University, the Goshen College women’s basketball team’s dramatic, come-from-behind rally stood just two points away from completion.
Freshman Cassie Greives — with help from sophomore Kimmie Hummer — made certain it would be finished.
Greives took a baseline inbounds pass from Hummer and converted a turnaround interior jump shot as the final buzzer sounded, giving Goshen (3-2, 0-0) an amazing 59-58 win over the Eagles in the most theatrical of finishes: After leading by as many as seven points in the first half, Goshen would trail by as many as 13 points in the second, needing a final push over the game’s last seven minutes to set up the climatic final play.
It was all a breathtaking way to capture the squad’s first road win of the season, at least for Goshen head coach Steve Wiktorowski.
“This was a really big win for our young team in that we found a way to win a game that we had every reason to lose,” Wiktorowski said. “Hopefully the way we came back to get our first road win will give us confidence to play better on the road in the future, especially in the conference.”
Goshen opened the game with a furor, scoring eight of the contest’s first nine points to open up an early 8-1 lead. A basket from junior Kendra Fights made it a 14-8 Leafs’ lead midway through the first half, while a layup from Greives made the score 25-18, Goshen, with just 3:30 remaining in the first period.
A late push from Judson would eventually carry over into the second half, however, as the hosts trimmed the lead to 25-24 at the half and raced out to a 41-30 advantage just six and a half minutes into the second period.
An interior basket from the Eagles gave Judson its biggest lead — a 52-39 difference — with just 7:07 remaining in regulation, and Goshen’s early leads were a distant memory.
“After a long trip we just didn't have our normal energy level against their very athletic team that applied a lot of defensive pressure,” Wiktorowski said. “We were able to start off alright because we shot the ball well, but we especially struggled coming out of the locker room at halftime after playing pretty even with them the first half.”
A layup from — who else — Greives at the 6:48 mark would begin a 20 to six Goshen run to close the game, however, as the Leafs connected on eight of their final 14 shots from the field.
A three pointer from junior Krystal Duensing turned a 52-45 Judson lead into a 52-48 ballgame at the 5:22 mark, while a layup from Fights and a one-of-two effort at the foul line from senior Katie Sowers made the score 54-51, Judson, with 3:36 to play.
A steal and layup from Duensing trimmed the Eagles’ lead to just 56-55 with 1:40 on the clock, but Judson responded with a layup on its next possession to reclaim a 58-55 lead with just 51 seconds to play.
Sophomore Ashley Hummer came up huge on Goshen’s next offensive possession, missing a three pointer but getting her own rebound with just over 20 seconds remaining. Hummer was able to muscle through traffic to score the putback effort, again trimming Judson’s lead to a single point, 58-57.
Forced to foul, Wiktorowski’s team received help when Judson’s Kirstin Johns missed the front end of a one-and-one situation. Greives calmly secured the rebound, and Goshen had its chances with 12 seconds to play.
Trying to catch Judson in transition, Goshen pushed the ball upcourt only to momentarily lose the ball before it was deflected off a Judson player out of bounds. With just one second on the clock, Wiktorowski called timeout.
His set play was a gem.
Kimmie Hummer was able to loft the ball to Greives in the interior, and the freshman made a veteran play. Turning to the inside, Grevies hoisted a turnaround look from just outside of three feet, calmly putting it through the net as the final horn sounded.
“We put a couple offensive possessions together to give us momentum late, and forced them to shoot from the perimeter the last five minutes and put ourselves in a position to win,” Wiktorowski said. “We were able to get Greives isolated close to the basket on the last play and she hit a nice turn around jumper to get us the win. Everyone did a nice job down the stretch and it was a true team victory despite struggling from the arc and with turnovers.”
Greives led all scorers in the contest, charting 14 points on a six of 12 shooting performance. Duensing finished with 11 points and four assists, while Sowers added 12 points and five rebounds.
As a team, Goshen did commit a season-high 31 turnovers, but managed to shoot 24 of 55 from the field overall (43.6 percent). The team struggled from both the three-point arc (three of 13, 23.1 percent) and the free throw line (eight of 17, 47.1 percent). Judson was not much better from either, however, converting just four of 15 threes (26.7 percent) and six of 16 charity tosses (37.5 percent).
Goshen did win the rebounding battle, out-boarding the Eagles by a 44 to 37 count overall.
“We did a good job the first half of shutting off their penetration, but turnovers early in the second half led to some easy baskets for them and then we struggled to match up with their speed individually,” Wiktorowski said. “After hitting a couple shots late and cutting into their lead we were able to go back to a zone and shut off the inside. Rebounding was a key where Greives, Fights and (sophomore) Lindsay Gangloff really helped us. Duensing hit a couple big jumpers and free throws late and Kimmie Hummer made a great pass into Greives on the winning basket.”
The Leafs will next host perennial NAIA power Cornerstone University, as the Golden Eagles will visit the Roman Gingerich Center Tuesday night for a 6 p.m. contest. That game will be the first of a men’s-women’s double-header, as the Goshen men’s basketball team will host the University of Northwestern Ohio 20 minutes following the conclusion of the women’s contest.
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Freshman Cassie Greives