GOSHEN, Ind. — Graysen Cockerham led the Goshen College women's basketball team with 15 points and TaNiece Chapman had another double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds Wednesday night in a 65-60 loss to the University of Northwestern Ohio at GC's Ruth Gunden Gymnasium.
Sadre'a Rougeau drained three 3-pointers on her way to 11 points as the Maple Leafs (3-10) dialed long-distance five times in a 17-point fourth quarter. The Racers, who were playing their season opener, outscored GC 27-17 over the last 10 minutes.
Jada Haines led all scorers with 22 points and Erin Scott added 20 for Northwestern Ohio, which got 7 rebounds apiece from Kimyra McGhee and Kalea Kruser. Haines and Gemma Ruiz Garcia each had 4 assists and Scott finished with 3.
Each defense had success getting up in the other team's business: Goshen forced 20 UNOH turnovers and turned them into 22 points, while the visitors forced 19 turnovers and scored 19 points from them. Cockerham and Chapman each finished with 3 steals.
After not scoring for almost three minutes to start the game, Goshen went on an 11-2 run to take a 7-point lead at the 3:22 mark of the first quarter. A Sophia Eli field goal with 5 seconds left made it 14-7 at the end of the period. The Racers ran off a 14-1 run in the midst of the second quarter before Eli connected on a 3-point play and Cockerham hit another triple to pull Goshen back within four points at intermission.
UNOH started the third period with a 9-2 run to go up by as many as 11, but the Maple Leafs shut off that faucet and held their guests off the scoreboard for more than 7 minutes as they scored 17 straight points to lead 43-38 at the end of the third. Cockerham had the first 8 points of the run and Chapman added 6.
Goshen's lead peaked at 7 points when Janara Flowers hit a 3-pointer 41 seconds into the fourth quarter before Haines went on a personal 6-0 run. Cockerham added a triple to quadruple the lead to 50-46 with 6:43 remaining, but the Racers tied the score with baskets on each of their next two trips up the floor. The visitors would miss just one more shot in the last six minutes.
The Maple Leafs took the lead back with a Rougeau 3-pointer with 3:25 left, but the Racers answered on each of the next two possessions with Tya Bell triples. Kiarah Copeland hit a 3-pointer with 1:51 left to bring GC within a point and Rougeau did the same at the 30-second mark.
Bell connected from the left wing with 16 seconds and change remaining, though, and the Maple Leafs found themselves down two possessions.
Goshen finished with a 22-19 edge on points in the paint and a 22-8 margin in bench scoring. Each team sank 8 3-pointers.
Goshen returns to conference play with three games in five days beginning Saturday against Mount Vernon Nazarene, when tip-off is set for 1 p.m. in Gunden Gymnasium.
