WINONA LAKE, Ind. — TaNiece Chapman led all players with 18 points and 9 rebounds, coming one rebound shy of a double-double Wednesday night as the Goshen College women's basketball team finished off its first Crossroads League sweep since 2016 with a 69-61 win over Grace College at the Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center.
Keyaira Murff also came one board short of a double-double, finishing with 12 points and matching Chapman's game high with 9 rebounds. Graysen Cockerham finished with 9 points and 7 rebounds for the Maple Leafs (4-12, 2-4) while Mariah Roe scored 8.
Maddie Ryman scored 18 points, including the 3-pointer that gave the Lancers their first lead of the game in the third quarter, to lead Grace (9-8, 1-7). She connected on a pair of 3-pointers, but the Lancers were generally cold from long distance, shooting 8-for-28 (29 percent).
Goshen outshot Grace 46 percent to 32 percent for the game, and that included the first quarter, when the visitors made more shots than they missed. Murff got a fast-break layup on the Maple Leafs' first shot of the game, which came off a missed 3-pointer on the other end, and Goshen raced to an 8-0 lead in the first four minutes.
Goshen opened a double-digit lead twice in the first quarter before Ryman scored the last five points to bring her team within 20-15 after 10 minutes of play. The Lancers finished the quarter 6-of-18 from the floor, but that included a 55 percent clip of their own after subtracting the 0-for-7 start.
Neither team shot the ball well in the second quarter, combining to go 8-for-27 or 30 percent. Goshen started the quarter on a 4-0 run and scored the final bucket as well, getting a Chapman field goal with 21 seconds left to pull ahead 32-24 at recess. Chapman led all scorers with 12 first-half points.
The Lancers made their big run out of the locker room, scoring 14 of the first 18 points including an 8-0 run that put them up two on Ryman's triple with 4:30 remaining in the third. Goshen countered with two points from Chapman and a Cockerham 3-point play to retake a 41-38 lead, but Poor's 3-pointer sparked another 6-0 Grace spree to put the hosts up 44-41 at the 2:18 mark.
The lead didn't even survive the quarter, though, as Chapman got a steal in the closing seconds and found Cockerham in the paint for the go-ahead bucket to put the Leafs up 46-44. Goshen would never trail again.
Goshen scored six of the first eight points in the fourth quarter and held Grace to 1-for-10 shooting over the first 7:18. The Lancers' defense kept them in the game, though, because Goshen went cold after the initial salvo and only led 58-54 when Ryman scored with 2:18 remaining.
Murff came up big on both ends of the floor, scoring with 2:00 left to put her team up six before getting the steal on the ensuing possession, which ended with a Roe 3 and a 63-54 lead with 92 seconds left.
Facing a dwindling clock, Grace missed two foul shots and a field goal on its next trip down the floor; Goshen didn't score on the other end but ran the clock down under a minute. The Leafs would make their last 5 shots of the game even as Grace scored seven points in the last 42 seconds.
Goshen outrebounded Grace 41-34 even as the Lancers got 15 offensive rebounds: no Grace player finished with more than 7 boards. Kamryn Hostetler led the hosts with 6 assists but Janara Flowers had 5 and Cockerham 4 for Goshen.
The Maple Leafs will switch their focus to another local rival on Saturday as they welcome Bethel University to Ruth Gunden Gymnasium for the latest installment of the U.S. Highway 20 Cup rivalry trophy series. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m.
Comments from Goshen College head coach Stephanie Miller:
"What a great win for our ball club tonight!
Grace does such a good job putting you in uncomfortable positions and can really rush you. I thought we really handled their pressure well. Our ball control (only 11 turnovers) in combination with winning the glass were the two keys to the game for us tonight. We also hit some really big shots down the stretch.
"TaNiece Chapman and Graysen Cockerham have been playing really well and had big nights for us, but it was the step-up performances tonight from Keyaira Murff, Mariah Roe, & Claire Rauck that were so clutch tonight.
"What I liked most about this win was the way the team rallied together after Grace went on their big second-half run. We had a great huddle late in the third quarter and the team accepted a challenge we put on the table for them. They really answered the call tonight and stepped up with poise and confidence down the stretch.
Our non-conference strength of schedule definitely helped prepare us for this road win tonight. That was a strong overall team performance for us on the road. It's hard to win road games in the Crossroads League, so we will celebrate this victory tonight and then get back to work tomorrow."
