GOSHEN, Ind. — Janara Flowers led Goshen College with 20 points and TaNiece Chapman put up another double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds Friday evening in a 92-88 women's basketball loss to the University of Rio Grande at Ruth Gunden Gymnasium.
Graysen Cockerham drained three 3-pointers, making her one of three Goshen players to hit multiple 3-point shots on her way to 18 points. Sadre'a Rougeau added 15 points and Keyaira Murff finished with 9, one point short of leaving five Maple Leafs in double figures.
Rio Grande (3-5) scored 31 points in the fourth quarter of a comeback win. Lexi Woods led all scorers with 22 points on 10-of-13 shooting and Caitlyn Brisker had 19 off the bench. Five players scored in double figures for Rio, including Avery Harper's double-double with 13 points and a game-high 14 rebounds.
Cockerham led all players with 6 steals — Goshen had 13 takeaways among Rio Grande's 22 turnovers — and 6 assists.
The Red Storm scored the first basket of the game 27 seconds in before Goshen (2-7) reeled off the next seven consecutive points. GC also scored the last six points of the first quarter to open a 21-13 lead behind 8 points from Chapman.
That lead ballooned to as many as 15 points at 28-13 two minutes into the second quarter after scores by Cockerham, Murff and Sophia Eli. The Maple Leafs led by double digits as late as the 2:00 mark of the first half before Rio scored five straight points to get within 45-35 at the intermission.
Hailey Jordan scored twice in a 7-0 Red Storm run midway through the third quarter that trimmed the lead to 4 points, and from there the coasting was over. Goshen pushed the lead back to 56-48 but promptly gave up eight straight points, though the Leafs never trailed in the third quarter and led 65-61 at period's end.
Rio tied the game with buckets on its first two possessions in the fourth, only for Goshen to take the lead on a five-point possession aided by a URG technical foul. The teams traded four-point runs before URG went ahead on a Reagan Willingham triple with 4:38 remaining.
Over the next four-plus minutes, Goshen scored five times to get within one or two points. All five times, the Red Storm answered on the other end.
The Maple Leafs had their last best chance when Rougeau scored with 15 seconds left. After a timeout, Rio Grande had the ball in the forecourt and went to the foul line up 89-88 with 8.4 seconds remaining. Goshen had a timeout at its disposal to bring the ball to the other end of the floor and the worst-case scenario involved the Red Storm making two shots to go up three.
If 2020 has taught us anything, however, there is always another level beyond the worst-case scenario. Woods made the first free throw but missed the second and Jordan ripped down the offensive rebound. After Willingham made both free throws, the 92-88 lead was out of reach for Claire Rauck's last-second 3-point try.
The two teams combined for 149 field goal attempts, 59 free throws, 39 offensive rebounds and 41 turnovers. Each team shot 43 percent from the floor; Rio shot 39 percent from 3-point range to Goshen's 35 percent.
The Maple Leafs conclude their pre-Christmas schedule at 3 p.m. Saturday against Indiana University South Bend.
