GOSHEN, Ind. — Every player who got in the game scored at least twice with five players hitting double figures Saturday as the Goshen College women's basketball team topped Grace College 79-67 at Ruth Gunden Gymnasium for the Maple Leafs' first win of the season.
TaNiece Chapman recorded her third double-double of the season with 11 rebounds while Janara Flowers canned three 3-pointers to go with a game-high 6 assists. Both players tied for the team high with 14 points. Graysen Cockerham added 13 points. Sadre'a Rougeau and Keyaira Murff each scored 10.
Goshen (1-4, 1-2 Crossroads League) showed off its balanced attack in the scoring column — which would have had a sixth player in double figures if Kiarah Copeland had scored another basket or if Claire Rauck added two more — but also moved the ball selflessly, assisting on 22 of its 30 field goals. Cockerham disseminated 5 dimes to go with 7 rebounds and Copeland added 4 assists.
Murff contributed all three of the game's blocks.
"We played great team basketball and we need the credit to go to the entire squad for all playing big roles for us — from the incredible energy on the bench, the excellent prep and sideline communication work by my assistants, to the many contributors of the athletes on the floor," said head coach Stephanie Miller. "This is the type of team effort that can really change the trajectory of where we are headed. In the last two games we have assisted on 42 of our 56 field goals! That is flat-out getting it done as far as teamwork is concerned. That makes me very proud of the squad and I can see their commitment to play for one another. We just have to keep getting better every day."
Grace (2-3, 0-3) raced to leads of 8-0, 14-4 and 22-13, draining 5 triples in the first quarter with Kyannah Stull being responsible for three of them. Stull led the team with 22 points for the game, going 6-for-12 from long distance and 7-for-16 overall. Kamryn Hostetler scored 12 points and Maddie Ryman had 11.
Stull led the Lancers with 6 rebounds and Hostetler added 4 assists and 2 steals. The trio named in the previous paragraph was also a perfect 11-for-11 at the foul line in the third quarter but 0-for-2 in the other three periods.
The Maple Leafs shot well from distance (8-for-17, 47 percent) and better at close range (22-for-41, 54 percent). Grace clocked in with marks of 36 and 33 percent respectively, which fall to 30 and 25 percent respectively after the early runs.
Trailing 20-10 with 2:43 left in the first quarter, Goshen connected on four of its last five shots to trim the deficit to 22-20 at the quarter. The four makes were from four players, and while Cockerham wasn't one of that quartet, she added a steal and two assists.
Flowers and Cockerham scored to put the Leafs up three points with 8:40 left in the half before each team had two empty possessions and Ryman scored for Grace. From that point, Goshen scored the next 12 points over 5 minutes and 40 seconds, capping a 27-4 run that put them up 37-24 at the 1:59 mark.
Grace refused to go away, hitting its last three shots to go into halftime on a 7-0 run trailing 39-34.
The Maple Leafs responded with another run out of the break, scoring 10 of the first 13 points and adding a later 7-0 run to stretch the margin to 15. Again, however, the Lancers would not be denied a comeback, hitting their last six shots (five of those being free throws) and trailing 64-54 at three-quarter time.
Goshen finally pulled away with an 11-2 run to start the fourth, leading by as many as 19 with 4:48 remaining.
"We earned this win through a total team effort," Miller said. "We have been getting better and have had a challenging early schedule that has prepared us well. I like the approach, attitude, and chemistry we are building right now. We just need a few wins to grab some confidence so we stop getting in our own way. This team is exciting and could really make strides in the next few weeks. I am watching this team battle through many obstacles and really believe they are handling themselves well as a group."
The game, which started 37 minutes late due to the men playing at 1:00 and going to overtime against Spring Arbor, was part of the Maple Leafs' first Crossroads League doubleheader sweep since Dec. 3, 2016, against Saint Francis. Further research will be required to determine the last time GC took two conference basketball games from different opponents on the same day.
GC will return to the floor at midweek to continue conference play, but that date with destiny will come 24 hours later than originally planned. The Maple Leafs' game at Huntington will be played on Thursday rather than Wednesday following a pair of postponements involving the Foresters. Tip-off is nevertheless scheduled for 7 p.m. in Platt Arena.
