GOSHEN, Ind. — Lynnia Noel scored a game-high 21 points, turning in her third double-double in five games, and the Goshen College women's basketball team extended its winning streak to five games by dispatching Huntington University 73-49 Wednesday evening in Crossroads League play at Gunden Gymnasium.

Sophia Sears added 18 points and Gabby Williams 12 for Goshen, which improved to 12-9 this season and 6-3 in conference play. Noel paced all players with 11 rebounds, two short of the career high she set four days ago, while Sears tied for the game high with five assists and held it alone with six steals.

GC got off to a fast start, scoring 10 of the game's first 12 points and leading 23-12 at the quarter. Two separate 7-0 runs in the second stanza stretched that edge out to 39-21 just before halftime before a pair of Huntington free throws with 2.5 seconds left closed the gap to 16 points at the intermission.

The Foresters (9-11, 3-6) got a run of their own to open the second half, scoring 16 of the first 19 points to close within 42-39 with 5:13 left in the third. The teams traded misses, then baskets, to make It 44-41 at the 3:36 mark.

That would be as close as Huntington got, however: Goshen outscored its opponents 28-7 the rest of the way, including holding them to 3-for-24 shooting and grabbing 24 of the last 33 rebounds.

The Maple Leafs shot 48.3 percent (28-for-58) from the floor and 81.3 percent (13-for-16) from the foul line, so they didn't miss often. But when they did, they got the ball back more often than not—literally, as the team posted 16 offensive rebounds compared to Huntington's 15 defensive boards.

"Lynnia and Sophia have just been playing lights out together, both putting in very balanced and energetic performances," said Goshen coach Stephanie Miller. "They are a tough combo to slow down right now. Gabby Williams also played with great energy and was very focused on what we needed from her tonight, and she got some big buckets for us in the paint."

In addition to the points, all of which came on field goals (she was 6-for-8 in 20 minutes), Williams finished with three rebounds.

On the defensive end, Goshen racked up nine steals and forced 14 turnovers while holding Huntington to 31 percent (17-of-55) shooting, the lowest mark of the season for a team that came in averaging 70 points per game with the second-highest field goal percentage in the NAIA this season.

"I'm really pleased with my team's defensive effort tonight," said Miller. "The defensive work we have put in is finally starting to translate and we continue to grow, mature, and find ourselves as a team each game. Tonight was a must-win game with Marian and Indiana Wesleyan looming on the schedule and we handled the pressure well. When Huntington closed the gap in the third, we came back swinging and held our ground. The difference this time was that we used defense to stop their run instead of trying to counter their offense with offense."

Miranda Palmer paced Huntington with 20 points on 7-of-15 shooting, but was held without a 3-pointer for the first time in 10 career meetings with Goshen. Allyson Trout added 13 points for the Foresters.

Each team had a player disqualified with five fouls as the two sides combined for 41 infractions, including 15 in the third period alone. The four starting forwards combined for 16 personal fouls, an average of four per player.

"Tonight we put together a true team effort against a tough Huntington squad," Miller said. "With all the foul trouble we were in, we had some different lineups rolling through and I give a ton of credit to my players coming in off the bench. I'm pleased that this team is putting in work to grow mentally tougher. We just need to stay focused and consistent down the stretch to give ourselves a chance to be in the hunt in the final push."

Goshen continues its streak of six home games in four weeks on Saturday when it hosts defending national champion and current league leader Marian. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. in Gunden Gymnasium with the two schools' men's teams following at 3:00.