Maple Leafs Pick Up First MCC Win Against Grace
February 3, 2010
GOSHEN, Ind. – The wait is over, but it only made it sweeter. After starting Mid-Central College Conference play 0-10, the Goshen College women’s basketball team got its first league win Wednesday night as they took down Grace College 80-69 inside Gunden Gymnasium.
“We have kept the faith and continued to work hard, and it was so good to break through with a win tonight after competing well but losing lately,” assistant coach Jennifer Steiner said. “It was a great team effort overall.”
It was a slow start for both sides as junior Cassie Greives scored the first basket of the game at the 17:14 mark. Despite Goshen scoring the opening points, it was the Lancers who broke out first. They used an 8-0 run over the next 2:02 to build an 8-2 advantage.
After turning the ball over six times in the first ten minutes, the Maple Leafs found themselves down 23-11 at the midway point of the half. They came roaring back, though, immediately going on a 10-0 run to cut the deficit to just two points.
Minutes later senior Rachel Allen drove the lane for a basket-and-one to tie the score at 30-30. After a pair of lead changes and two more ties, Goshen took control as senior Lindsay Gangloff hit back-to-back jumpers, including a 3-pointer to give the Leafs a five-point cushion. Goshen hit 53% from the field in the first half as they took a 40-36 lead into the break, despite allowing the Lancers to grab 12 offensive rebounds.
“After a slow start, we played a solid game on both halves tonight,” Steiner explained. “We had some trouble keeping them off the offensive boards, but especially in the second half we ripped down a few key rebounds.”
Goshen opened the second period on a 13-2 run giving them a 53-39 lead with 15 minutes to play. The second half became physical struggle as the teams combined for 25 personal fouls, but Grace was not able to capitalize, hitting just 19-of-32 (59%) from the free throw line.
The Maple Leaf lead never got below eight points after Goshen pulled away early in the half. Junior Erica Yost was able to penetrate the lane in the second period as she scored 13 of her game-high 20 points after the intermission.
“The key to the game was our pushing the ball up the floor and scoring in transition,” added Steiner. “We got some big baskets inside and shot 49% for the game to help offset their advantage in free throw attempts.”
Yost led all scorers with 20 points, while also dishing out nine assists and grabbing six steals. Despite foul trouble forcing her to just 16 minutes of play, Greives finished with 16 points, while Gangloff had 13, including 11 in the first half.
“Lindsay got us back into the game the first half after a slow start and Erica did a nice job getting into the lane, finding open teammates, and hit her 3-pointers,” Steiner continued. “With two of our better scorers in foul trouble (Greives and Heather Hahn), Rachel Allen, Sam Hawk and Jessica Harrison came in and gave us a big lift off the bench both halves.”
Goshen heads to NAIA DII #11 University of Saint Francis on Saturday. The tip is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. in Fort Wayne.
