HUNTINGTON, Ind. — If collegiate women's basketball games were 20 minutes long, the Goshen College women's basketball team would have won its fourth straight conference game going away. If the game were 30, 35 or even 37 minutes, the Maple Leafs would have held off the hosting Huntington Foresters Saturday afternoon.

But the rules of the game call for four 10-minute quarters, and when the dust had settled, no. 24 Huntington pulled out a 75-70 win in a Crossroads League game at Platt Arena.

Forester guard Miranda Palmer sank 11 of 12 shots en route to a game-high 31 points as the Foresters shot 64 percent from the floor over the final two quarters. Jaclene Bonnema and Amelia Recker scored 12 and 10 points, respectively, after halftime and finished with 18 and 11 total points. All three started for Huntington (11-5, 1-3 Crossroads League) and played all 40 minutes.

Tyra Carver paced the Maple Leafs (11-5, 3-1 CL) with 20 points, going 7-for-15 in the second half and finishing 4-for-5 from the foul line. Lynnia Noel scored a season-high 18 points, 17 of which came before the intermission. Junior Gabby Williams scored 13 points and senior Keshia Ward had 12.

The Maple Leafs led 22-18 at the quarter: finishing the half on a 16-6 run, they were up 46-29 at the half. Goshen shot 61 percent (19-for-31) from the floor in the first 20 minutes, knocking down five of nine three-point tries and holding Huntington to 39 percent shooting. The roles reversed in the second half, with Huntington holding a 64 percent to 35 percent shooting edge.

"We played with confidence and aggressiveness in the first half, then with nervousness and stress in the second half," said Goshen head coach Stephanie Miller. "We were in charge and just like that they took it back. All the credit should go to Huntington for keeping their composure and playing through adversity."

The hosts used 9-2 and 6-0 runs in the third stanza to cut their deficit to six through half an hour of play. Goshen led by nine with 9:05 to play before Palmer scored six points on a 10-2 Huntington spurt over the next 4:23.

"I hope we learn from Huntington's example today that it takes two good halves to win at the top," Miller said. "We aren't there yet, but we will be if we can respond positively to the lessons we have had to learn this week."

The Maple Leafs have lost four games in a row after an 11-1 start, but three of the four have come by five points or fewer and all four were against teams ranked or receiving votes in the national coaches poll.

"We will take the day off tomorrow to regroup and find out a lot about ourselves this week. It's gut-check time for all of us and accountability is key," Miller said. "I need to find a way to put us in a better position to close out these close games so that we come out ahead. It's that simple."

The offensive execution led to high assist counts (21 for Goshen, 20 for Huntington) and few turnovers (the Maple Leafs had seven, their second-fewest of the season). Sophia Sears matched a season high with eight assists.

The road does not get much easier for the Maple Leafs, who welcome ninth-ranked Indiana Wesleyan on Wednesday night before facing longtime local rivals Bethel and Grace in their next two games. Tip-off for the game between no. 24 Goshen and the Wildcats is set for 7 p.m. on Jan. 6 in Gunden Gymnasium.