FORT WAYNE, Ind. — Mariah Roe and Keyaira Murff scored in double figures Saturday as Goshen College dropped a 57-43 decision to NAIA Division II no. 17 Saint Francis in Crossroads League play at USF's Hutzell Athletic Center.

Murff scored eight of her 10 points in the final period, making both of her field-goal tries and all six foul shots in the game, while all of Roe's scoring came in the first and fourth quarters.

Sydney Stein led all players on either side with eight rebounds for the Maple Leafs (1-11, 0-3) while Roe and Claire Rauck added six apiece. Savannah Buck led Saint Francis (7-3, 2-1) with five assists.

Kara Gerka led all players with 17 points, going 7-of-9 from the floor in 28 minutes for USF. Even so, Goshen held the Cougars to a 19-for-55 (34.5 percent) mark from the floor; GC's defense held the remaining Cougars to a 26.1 percent clip.

"I was very proud of my team for staying locked in defensively and executing our game plan for four quarters," Miller said. "We kept USF from getting deep in the paint easily and played high and well in our gap help to keep them from getting good looks at the 3-point line. They are a very good team and are difficult to guard, so I was pleased with our continued concentration on getting stops and rebounds tonight. If we could have scored some of the easy opportunities we missed, we put ourselves in position to win this one."

Hanna Hochstetler matched her career high with six points for Goshen, scoring once in each of the first three quarters. GC took the lead three times in the opening period, pulling in front for the last time on a Carley O'Neal free throw with 3:39 left, before USF scored six straight points to take the lead. The Cougars would hold a 17-15 edge at the quarter.

"Hanna played one of the best games of her career today," Miller said. "She played a key role for us and was a strong floor leader overall. We also got strong physical play from Sydney both on defense and on the glass."

Both teams went cold in the second quarter, combining for a 5-for-27 (18.5 percent) mark from the floor and not scoring in the first 5:51 or the last 2:23. Goshen would pull down 10 rebounds in the quarter but also turned the ball over six times and trailed 27-17 at halftime.

While the shooting woes continued in the third period (each team took 14 shots with USF making five to Goshen's four), the Cougars found a fresh weapon at the foul line, where they went 6-of-7. The Cougars' lone foul in the quarter was of the common variety and resulted in no GC free throws.

The final quarter, on the other hand, had more than enough foul shots to go around as the teams combined for 16 fouls. Goshen went 11-for-14 at the stripe to Saint Francis' 6-for-8, winning the final quarter 17-13 on that account. Roe and Murff combined for 14 of Goshen's 17 in the final 10 minutes.

"Mariah Roe has taken solid steps forward and it's no easy task being a young point guard in the Crossroads League," Miller said. "I have liked the effort and pace to which Haley has elevated her game in the last couple of weeks. We are really seeing the guard trio of Mariah, Haley, and Carley staring to click."

Neither team shot the ball well from long range, combining to go 7-for-40 (17.5 percent) from 3-point land; again, Gerka contributed three of the makes on just four of the attempts. O'Neal and Haley Archibeque each scored from outside for GC.

"I am seeing growth in so many of my players: the team's attitude is still very locked in right now and I feel us getting better," Miller said. "As we take on teams with more experience, we keep learning new things we need to know each time out, but just aren't putting them all together at the same time."

The loss marked Goshen's fourth straight game against a team that is ranked or receving votes in the NAIA national poll this season; the Maple Leafs have played seven such foes in their first 12 games while giving 55 percent of their minutes to players who weren't on the roster at the close of last season.

Goshen returns to action Wednesday against Bethel; tip-off is set for 6 p.m. in Gunden Gymnasium with the men's game to follow at 8. The game is Goshen's last Crossroads League game before the break and its last home contest until January 3.