NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Caitlyn O'Neal knocked down four 3-pointers to pace the Goshen College women's basketball team Saturday in its season opener, a 67-51 loss to Holy Cross College at the Pfeil Center.

O'Neal scored 12 points off the bench and Taniece Chapman added 10 for the Maple Leafs, who also got 8 points and a game-high 9 rebounds from Sydney Stein.

Holy Cross, which also opened its season with the win, was paced by 24 points and 8 rebounds from Jessica Norris and 12 points from Kaelyn Barlow. Alex Forster distributed 8 assists in 36 minutes, both game highs.

The Saints opened the scoring on the game's first possession and added a pair of early triples to extend their lead before Goshen got baskets from Alyson Prigge and Chapman to get on the board. Holy Cross finished with the last 7 points of the quarter on scores by Barlow and Norris.

The Maple Leafs countered their first-quarter woes with an 18-point second stanza, closing the deficit to 32-22 at halftime. O'Neal paced Goshen with 6 points in the first half in her first game since suffering a season-ending injury against Holy Cross one year ago Saturday. Goshen, which was 9-of-26 (34.6 percent) from the floor in the first half, also got 5 points from Stein in that span.

Another O'Neal 3-pointer got Goshen back within 9 points late in the third quarter before a Prigge triple with 16 seconds left made the score 44-36 in favor of Holy Cross with 10 minutes to go. While the Maple Leafs hit on 44.4 percent of their 3-pointers (4-of-9) in the second half, Holy Cross racked up 10 steals and went 7-of-8 at the foul line to seal the win.

O'Neal and Chapman each finished with 6 points in the second half to lead Goshen, followed by 4 apiece from Haley Archibeque and Graysen Cockerham. Barlow added 10 points over the final 20 minutes for Holy Cross, while Norris played every minute of the second half and finished with 7. Norris also accumulated 7 rebounds.

Up Next: Goshen wraps up its season-opening two-game road trip with a visit to Aquinas College at 7 p.m. Tuesday..