GOSHEN, Ind. — Graysen Cockerham led the Goshen College women's basketball team in scoring for the first time in her career and the Maple Leafs led their home opener for more than 38 minutes Saturday in a 67-62 win over Lourdes University at Gunden Gymnasium.

The Maple Leafs (2-1) needed 46 seconds to get on the scoreboard on Sydney Stein's game-opening basket and were tied for less than a minute after that, as Mariah Roe's 3-pointer at the 8:10 mark of the first quarter sparked a 10-1 run and the team led wire-to-wire from that point.

Alyson Prigge posted 11 points for the Maple Leafs, connecting on a game-high three 3-pointers, while Roe and Keyaira Murff added 10 apiece. Taniece Chapman paced GC with 10 rebounds and added 9 points to come one shy of a double-double.

Goshen led by as many as 9 in the first quarter, reaching the largest lead on a Roe triple with 5:05 remaining and matching that margin on a Chapman bucket that capped a 9-3 spurt with 21 seconds left. The Maple Leafs posted a 12-5 rebounding edge in the first 10 minutes, holding the Grey Wolves (1-1) off the offensive glass en route to a 23-14 lead.

Lourdes closed the gap to trail 31-27 at halftime after a second half that saw the defenses combine to force 12 turnovers while allowing 6 made field goals. Neither team scored from the floor for almost five minutes between a Stein bucket at the 5:17 mark and a Hunter Kershaw jumper on LU's final possession. Gray Wolf Ramiah Copeland led all players with 4 points in the quarter.

Goshen got back to its scoring ways in a 22-point third quarter, connecting on five of its first seven shots and finishing the period with a 10-for-17 (58.8 percent) mark. Claire Rauck got on the scoresheet for the first time at the 2-minute mark, pushing the lead into double figures for the first time, and added another bucket with 31 seconds left for a 53-41 lead. Kershaw scored Lourdes' last four points of the quarter, including a basket just before the final horn to get back within 53-43.

Jami Hardy scored eight of her game-high 16 points in the fourth quarter, hitting four straight shots in a three-minute span as Lourdes cut its deficit to 5 with 3:46 to play. Goshen's defense yielded no further, though, with a Cockerham triple 19 seconds later putting the Maple Leafs back up by 8. Goshen closed out the win with three trips to the foul line.

Both teams shot 39 percent from the floor, with the Maple Leafs going 25-of-63 and Lourdes 24-of-61, and sank seven 3-pointers. Lourdes held a 20-8 edge in points off turnovers but gave the ball away 19 times. Christiana Jefferson led all players with 6 assists for LU; Roe and Haley Archibeque paced Goshen with 4 each.

Goshen's Keyaira Murff and Lourdes' Keyvona Davis each recorded two blocks.

Quoting Goshen head coach Stephanie Miller:
"This was a big hurdle for us to get over today and I am confident that putting together a winning streak will prove to be a strong confidence boost for our team. We struggled to finish games like this last year, so being able to finish down the stretch will no doubt serve as validation for our continual progress.

"The key to the game for us was our defense. We had very active hands and played passing lane angles well to create tips, deflections, and turnovers. Offensively, we are showing improvement on our execution, and have been much more aggressive the last two games.

"Keyaira Murff and Taniece Chapman did a great job patrolling the paint on defense and grabbing big boards. Haley Archibeque pushed the tempo well and did a nice job with ball management and distribution. Alyson Prigge has been really looking to shoot the 3-ball this season and she knocked down some big buckets to answer their scores and kill their runs."

Notable Numbers:

4: Five Maple Leafs (Cockerham, Roe, Murff, Prigge and Chapman) finished with a team-high 4 field goals; that quintet accounted for 80 percent of GC's made baskets. Cockerham also went a perfect 4-for-4 at the foul line.

18/40: Goshen's 18 turnovers and 40 rebounds were both the team's best totals of the season.

Up Next: Goshen at Trinity International University Trojan Classic, Nov. 9-10:
Friday: Goshen vs. Kentucky Christian, 3 p.m. EST
Saturday: Goshen at Trinity International, 5 p.m. EST