Carley O'Neal celebrated Senior Night with a career-high 20 points Wednesday as Goshen College lost 67-65 to Mount Vernon Nazarene University in Crossroads League women's basketball at Gunden Gymnasium.

Sydney Stein added a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds for the Maple Leafs (1-26, 0-15), who also got 14 points from Mariah Roe.

Goshen sank its first three shots, with seniors O'Neal and Hanna Hochstetler each getting on the board before Mount Vernon Nazarene (15-12, 7-8) snapped the 8-0 run after 2:08. O'Neal and Stein each scored again to give GC a 12-2 edge before MVNU's first field goal.

The Cougars responded with 10 of the next 13 points before two Stein foul shots sent Goshen into the quarter break with an 18-12. Goshen shot 6-for-17 (35.3 percent) in the opening 10 minutes, adding five foul shots and a 12-11 edge on the glass.

After a Goshen basket opened the second stanza, the teams just about alternated scores for the rest of the quarter. The exception made for Mount Vernon's closest approach to a lead of the half: following a Sierra Basista basket with 3:42 left, the Cougars forced a turnover and a Basista 3-pointer pulled them within 28-27. Roe answered with a triple in transition nine seconds later, though, and Goshen took a 32-29 lead into the intermission.

MVNU scored 17 points in the quarter on 8-of-20 shooting without a trip to the foul line: Goshen was 5-for-15 with three foul shots and a pair of blocks. Roe's seven points and Basista's five led the two teams in the period, while O'Neal's 11 points at halftime were a game-high.

Another game high happened in the third quarter, this one favoring the visiting side. MVNU scored 23 points, going 9-for-18 from the floor and a perfect 4-for-4 at the stripe, to take a 52-44 lead. A 10-2 Cougar run gave them a 39-36 lead four minutes into the quarter; Claire Rauck hit a 24-footer from the right wing to pull Goshen level with 5:14 left, but the Cougars would score 13 of the next 15 points before Goshen's next field goal with 16 seconds to play.

The Mount Vernon Nazarene lead reached as high as 12 after two straight scores to start the fourth quarter; after the teams traded baskets, it happened again at the 8:21 mark. Haley Archibeque scored to bring Goshen back within 10; the bigger blow came from O'Neal, Rauck and Alyson Prigge, who each sank 3-pointers in a 100-second span to close the lead to 60-57.

Offense came at a premium over the next three minutes, with each side mustering a single field goal: Mariah Roe's fast-break 3-pointer closed the gap to 65-62 Cougars with 1:29 remaining.

Again, the teams traded scores, with MVNU bringing the ball into the forecourt just inside the final minute. Goshen forced a turnover on a backcourt violation with 49 seconds to play, but could get just one Stein free throw to close within 67-65 eight seconds later.

Mount Vernon Nazarene didn't score on the ensuing possession, as Sophie Kinnard's shot from the right baseline glanced off the edge of the backboard, but it did the next best thing: by the time the Cougars corralled the board, the shot clock had expired and left Goshen 10.5 seconds with which to work. MVNU gave its two remaining fouls to further bleed the clock, resulting in a Maple Leaf inbound play in front of the bench at :05.1.

Archibeque's pass found O'Neal in the free-throw lane, but the game-tying shot came up short off the rim and time expired before Goshen could foul.

Taylor Gregory led Mount Vernon Nazarene with 17 points, shooting 6-of-12 to go with 12 rebounds in 38 minutes. Elizabeth Fee added a double-double (10 points and 12 rebounds) while Basista scored 12.

The Cougars finished with more rebounds (46-34) and a better shooting percentage, clocking in at 38.8 percent to Goshen's 36.5. The Maple Leafs drained three more 3-pointers and 12 foul shots to MVNU's 11 while forcing three more turnovers than they surrendered.

Keyaira Murff posted a game-high two blocks for GC: her 42nd and 43rd stuffs of the season pushed her into second place on the school's single-season block list and into the top 10 for a career. Archibeque led the team with three steals.

The Maple Leafs play their next two games on the road, starting the voyage with a trip to Taylor University in Upland, Indiana, on Saturday. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. in Odle Arena.