GOSHEN, Ind. – It took overtime, and it wasn't always pretty. But Goshen never let IU-Northwest take the lead the entire game, and the Maple Leafs won 72-71 (OT).
 
Goshen led early and maintained a single-digit lead through the first quarter. As the second and third quarter progressed, the Leafs kept building on their lead until it was a 16 point difference. The Maple Leafs outscored the Redhawks 17-8 in the third quarter and held them to shooting 1-12 from the field. At the end of the third, Goshen led 54-38.
 
In the fourth quarter, IU-Northwest started chipping away at the lead. Goshen went on a small 5-0 run but it still wasn't enough to hold back the Redhawks. With 16 seconds to go, they had come back all the way to tie it at 63. Taniece Chapman made a quick basket to give Goshen a two-point edge. But Michaela Schmidt scored for IU-Northwest with six seconds to go. After a Goshen turnover from the inbound play, the Redhawks had a shot for the win but couldn't convert. It was on to overtime.
 
In the extra period, Goshen scored first – still preventing IU-Northwest from ever taking the lead in the game. That continued on as they outscored the Redhawks 7-6 in overtime and won the game 72-71.
 
Head coach Stephanie Miller noted how the team lost many close games last year, and the fourth quarter was reminiscent of those days. "When IU-Northwest went on a run to open the fourth quarter, we naturally went back to last year and got tight down the stretch," Miller explained. "We have a lot of work to do to clean up that fourth-quarter mess, but we found a way to win, so we will celebrate every single one of them along the way."
 
Leading the way for the Leafs were seniors Graysen Cockerham and TaNiece Chapman. Cockerham had a shooting percentage of 50%, scored 22 points, grabbed eight rebounds, and had six steals. Chapman shot 56% from the field and had a double-double with 20 points and 13 boards.
 
"TaNiece and Graysen each hit some big baskets for us tonight in some key moments," said Miller. "They both needed to help us find a way to get the job done and they did."
 
The women are now 2-0 to start the season for the first time since the 2015-16 season. This was also the team's first overtime win since January 2015. Goshen had lost five straight to IU-Northwest. This was their first win over the Redhawks since 2011.
 
The Leafs now travels to southern Ohio to play in the Rio Grande Classic. The first match is on Friday, November 5^th at 7:00 pm against the host, Rio Grande. Then on Saturday, November 6^th, Goshen will face West Virginia Tech at 1:00. Goshen's next home match will be Tuesday, November 9^th at 7:00 pm against Northwestern Ohio.