MARION, Ind. – "We played hard, played a physical game with them, won the glass, and I thought we guarded hard," reflected head coach Stephanie Miller, "but we just didn't take care of business at the three-point line." The Goshen women's basketball team still had a lot of fight left in them when down by 15 in the fourth quarter by bringing the lead down to just eight. However, the ranked Indiana Wesleyan Wildcats secured a 64-50 win on their home court.
 
Taniece Chapman scored the game's first four points, and Goshen led 4-0 early on. Then the #13 ranked Wildcats team started a 13-0 run, forcing the Maple Leafs to call a timeout. It was over four minutes before either team scored again, but a Sa'Drea Rougeau layup ended IWU's scoring streak. The Wildcats led by nine after quarter one, and Goshen brought it to within three points in the second quarter. Yet, Indiana Wesleyan had two crucial buckets in the final 30 seconds before halftime, including a three-pointer by Lilli Frasure with just three seconds to go. That extended their five-point lead to a ten-point margin at the break.
 
In the third quarter, the margin increased to 18 points from a 13-5 IWU run, but the Leafs didn't give up hope. Goshen had a 7-0 run in the fourth thanks to Syanne Mohamed and Kyla Foster's baskets and some free throws by Graysen Cockerham. "We spread their defense out a little better and forced them to guard our dribble attack," said Miller. "When we spread them out, they couldn't keep us in front as well when we went away from the screen sets." IWU led 58-50 at this point, and it seemed that the Maple Leafs were in it with less than five minutes to go.
 
Those would be the last points for the Maple Leafs, though. Neither team scored for nearly two minutes after Goshen's rally. But when the drought ended, Indiana Wesleyan finished the game with a 6-0 run to win by 14 – 64-50.
 
Taniece Chapman led GC with 15 points and six rebounds. She couldn't be stopped in the first quarter, as 11 of the Leafs first 15 points came from her. Cockerham and Mohamed each had eight points, four rebounds, and two steals.
 
The Wildcats scored 33 points behind the arc, whereas Goshen had six. And while Goshen only had four more turnovers than the home team, IWU had 19 more points off of turnovers than the Maple Leafs. Goshen won the rebound category 26-19 and the points in the paint 38-24.
 
Indiana Wesleyan (8-2, 2-1 CL) remains undefeated at home this season, now 6-0. Their defense has been terrific as of late. They have not allowed their opponents to score more than 65 points in each of the last six games. Kelli Damman was a surprise performer for the Wildcats tonight. She went off for 28 points tonight, which is more than her previous four games combined. She was 7-11 from distance and 3-3 at the line. "We let [Damman] get in a rhythm early," Miller remarked. "Most of their early run was generated from the three threes she hit on us even though some may have been contested."
 
"If we had done some of the little things better, I thought our approach and competitiveness was enough to win the game tonight. You have to do all the little things to win Crossroads League games and I know we are learning and getting better every game. I like our team's toughness and I think we can shake things up in our league if we keep learning."
 
Goshen (4-6, 1-2 CL) looks to get back to the win column on Saturday, December 4. The Leafs will host Spring Arbor at 1:00 pm, with the men's portion of the doubleheader to follow.