GOSHEN, Ind. —The Goshen College women's basketball team shot 65 percent in the first quarter and made its lead last to the last drop Saturday afternoon for a 75-72 win over Huntington University in Crossroads League action.

Sophia Sears and Gabby Williams scored 15 points apiece for Goshen (19-7, 11-3 CL), which led 31-23 at the quarter and 47-35 at the half. Both players shot well from the floor (Sears was 7-for-11 and Williams 6-for-11) and Williams grabbed 10 rebounds for her 11th double-double this season.

Jo'Mani Thomas scored 12 points and retrieved six caroms for the Maple Leafs. Tyra Carver scored nine points and Liz Tecca seven, both adding four assists.

"This win is a real monkey off our back, so to speak," said Goshen head coach Stephanie Miller, who saw her team lead 46-27 at halftime before losing 75-70 when the same two teams met Jan. 2 at Huntington. "Huntington has been such a tough matchup over the last couple of years: as we have slowly but surely been able to knock off other CL teams, we haven't been able to beat them. They are always a poised group who execute well and they just never quit."

Each team had just one giveaway in the opening 10 minutes. Goshen shot 13-for-20 to Huntington's 9-for-16. Both teams shot better than 50 percent in the first and third stanzas with one team doing so in the second and fourth.

"When we saw (the Foresters) closing the gap, I was afraid our players had the last game too much in the back of their heads," Miller said. "We have one more step we need to conquer to keep making progress: we must stop playing not to lose under pressure instead of playing to win. A lot of times we are the only thing standing in our own way."

Goshen shot 51.6 percent from the floor to Huntington's 46.7 percent. Both teams held on to the ball well, giving up 19 combined turnovers. The Maple Leafs held the edge in rebounds (35-29) and assists (19-16).

Allison Trout scored 22 points and Miranda Palmer 17 for the Foresters (15-11, 5-9 CL), who never led but cut the deficit to as few as three points down the stretch.

"I keep telling the girls that it has to be one game at a time and one possession at a time on defense," said Miller. "We played three strong quarters and a nervous sloppy quarter, but at the end of the day, we just had to find a way to get the job done. We stepped up and got a defensive stop and defensive board to seal the win."

"On Gabby's birthday, her double-double helped propel us inside the paint," Miller continued. "She, Jo'Mani, and Keshia Ward did a strong job working hard on the glass and denying their post entry passes. It was great to have Sophia back leading the offense and she, Liz, and Tyra each did a strong job sharing the ball and setting the table for others, while picking and choosing their own moments to knock down big buckets."

Miller's team won its 19th game of the season, besting last year's total by one and matching the 1987-88 team for the second-most in school history. The 11-3 league mark is the most conference wins ever in a season for GC, passing the 2003-04 squad that went 10-4.

The win coupled with Bethel's loss to Indiana Wesleyan guarantees the Maple Leafs a top-four CL finish and a home game in the first round of the conference tournament. That home contest on Tuesday, Feb. 23, will be Goshen's first tournament home game since 2004.

Goshen hosts Grace Wednesday in a doubleheader. The women play at 6 p.m. followed by the men at approximately 8 p.m.