By Andrew Snyder
Sports Information Intern

GARY, Ind. – The Goshen College women's basketball team fell behind early and struggled to stay afloat against Indiana University Northwest, dropping a 78-69 contest between two ranked women's basketball teams on the road Wednesday night.

The 21st-ranked RedHawks (7-1) scored first as Nicki Monahan knocked down a 3-pointer for the 3-0 lead. Sophie Sears responded with a 3-pointer of her own as the no. 11 Maple Leafs tied the game 3-3, the first of two circumstances with a tied score. The second came just two possessions later, as each team converted buckets to knot the game at 5.

These stalemates were the closest the Maple Leafs (4-4) would get to a lead, as the Redhawks finished the quarter up 19-16. Sears and Grayce Roach both tallied eight points in the first stanza to lead their teams.

Into the second quarter it was Monahan shining again, going 5-of-7 from the field en route to 14-point stanza and a game-high 22 points heading into the halftime break, IU Northwest up 44-31. Sears led Goshen with 11 points through two quarters, followed closely by junior Caitlyn O'Neal with eight.

The Redhawks shot 14-of-27 (52 percent) from the floor and 9-of-13 (69 percent) from 3-point range in the first half. The Maple Leafs went 11-of-31 (36 percent) from the floor and held an 18-14 edge on the glass.

Goshen cut the deficit as low as seven midway through the third and won the quarter overall 22-19, but the big first half lead kept IU Northwest ahead 63-53 with 10 minutes left to play. Monahan added seven more to her total for the RedHawks in the period.

Goshen shot 6-of-15 for 16 points in the final stanza, cutting the IU Northwest lead as low as two with just over a minute left in the fourth quarter. But like so many comebacks, this one came down to free throws: the RedHawks went 5-of-8 from the free throw line in the final minute to clinch the win.

Sears finished with 20 points to lead the Maple Leafs and ended the night 28 points shy of becoming the 15th member of the 1,000-point club at Goshen College. The Maple Leafs shot 25-of-61 (41 percent) from the floor, including an 8-of-19 (42 percent) clip from deep.

IU Northwest finished 23-of-56 (41 percent) from the field but used a 12-of-25 (48 percent) mark from 3-point range to outshoot Goshen. Monahan had a game-high 35 points for the RedHawks, going 12-of-22 from the field and 8-of-11 from downtown.

"It was a case of too little too late for us tonight," said head coach Stephanie Miller. "For the better part of the first half, we couldn't cool off their combination of Roach and Monahan, who were sizzling hot from behind the arch. We made a great run after some halftime defensive adjustments and finally started driving them off the 3-point line. We struggled to finish in the first half when they were hot, then started getting more comfortable and hitting shots in the second half. I thought my players played with tremendous heart in this game. We have not reached our potential yet, but I can see it coming a little at a time. Give IU Northwest credit, that's a really strong team and they can really shoot it."

"Sophie played a really strong game and looked to be more aggressive offensively," continued Miller. "Caitlyn O'Neal has really been stepping up and giving us strong minutes. She's getting more and more comfortable in our system and plays with tremendous effort. Sydney Stein got some big boards for us and I was pleased to see us work to win the glass. This is an area we really have committed to getting better in one game at a time."

"The disappointment in this game is that we struggled to shut down the 3-point shooters and worked so hard to come back from an almost 20-point deficit to within two, only to fall short in the final minute," concluded Miller. "If we keep working this hard and learning from some of these tough non conference teams, we will really be prepared for conference play."

The Maple Leafs have the weekend off before starting their conference season with a doubleheader on Tuesday at Huntington, with the men tipping off at 6 p.m. followed by the women around 8 p.m.