SPRING ARBOR, Mich. — Keshia Ward scored 24 points, the second-most by any Goshen player this year, and pulled down 18 rebounds, two shy of her career high, and the Goshen College women's basketball team started Crossroads League play with a road win by knocking off Spring Arbor University 81-75 on Tuesday night.

Ward went 10-for-15 from the floor, adding four free throws on four attempts, and cleaned the offensive and defensive glass equally with nine boards of each variety. Tyra Carver added 16 points and Liz Tecca 15 for Goshen in a game in which the starters played 162 of a possible 200 minutes.

Ward set a new career high scoring total, besting a 20-point performance against Marian on Jan. 7, 2015. Her 18 rebounds were not a career best only because she had 20 in the double-overtime game the last time Goshen played at SAU, one in which the Maple Leafs set a new school record with 73 rebounds as a team.

"Keshia Ward had an unbelievable night," said Goshen head coach Stephanie Miller. "She simply dominated the glass in a way I haven't seen in some time."

Spring Arbor shot exactly 40 percent from both two- and three-point range, making 13 of their 15 free throws. The teams combined for only 27 personal fouls, two of which came as Spring Arbor tried to stop the clock in the last minute, but 31 turnovers.

"Every time we match up with SAU, it's an absolute battle," Miller said. "They scrap and fight and force us into unnecessary turnovers. We crash their glass and win the second-chance points. Tonight was no different."

On this night, Goshen pulled down 44 rebounds to Spring Arbor's 30. Lynnia Noel added six. Sophia Sears had a game-high five assists, which leaves her six short of reaching the top 10 in school history for her career barely one-fourth of the way through her junior season.

While Goshen led for 26 minutes of the 40, including the entire second half, its largest lead was 14 and the advantage reached double figures just twice. Spring Arbor led by as many as six in the first half before a 13-0 Goshen run across halftime pushed the visitors ahead.

"We held a lead for much of the game, but we couldn't get out ahead of them much before they came storming back," said Miller. "This was a really tough win and an important one for our squad. We were able to finish the game out at the free-throw line and control the final minute like a veteran squad."

Carver and Tecca combined to go 13-for-26 from the floor; the team finished at 46.5 percent (33-for-71) shooting field goals and a perfect 9-for-9 at the foul line. Jo'Mani Thomas scored nine points off the bench.

"I'm proud of this team for fighting through Spring Arbor's good shooting night and finding a way to win," Miller said. "We were very strong offensively tonight and shared the ball well. We were unselfish on the interior and attacked their paint, which led to some easy buckets."

The Maple Leafs improve to 8-1 and 1-0 in league play, while Spring Arbor drops to 5-3 and 0-1. Goshen returns to the floor for another Tuesday game next week at Mount Vernon Nazarene, with tip-off set for 5:30 p.m.