MARION, Ind. — Kiarah Copeland scored a career-high 17 points in the final game of her junior season while Graysen Cockerham posted a double-double and TaNiece Chapman came within a rebound of doing the same Tuesday night as seventh-seeded Goshen College lost 74-65 to second-seeded Indiana Wesleyan University in a Crossroads League women's basketball tournament quarterfinal at IWU's Luckey Arena.
Anne Secrest led all players with 25 points and 10 rebounds for the Wildcats (20-6), who are ranked 16th in the latest edition of the NAIA coaches poll. Gabby Suarez added 16 points including four 3-pointers, a category where the Wildcats enjoyed a 13-3 advantage over Goshen. Suarez also led all players with 6 assists.
Keyaira Murff finished her career with 13 points on 4-of-9 shooting for the Maple Leafs (7-20) while Chapman scored 16 points with 9 rebounds and Cockerham finished with 10 of each. Goshen's other two seniors, Mariah Roe and Claire Rauck, finished with 5 and 4 points respectively.
The Wildcats shot 15-of-16 (93.8 percent) at the foul line; Goshen was 13-of-23 (56.5 percent).
Playing in their first postseason game since 2017, the Maple Leafs fell behind 8-0 in the first three minutes before roaring back to score the next 14 points, 12 of which came from Murff and Copeland. The latter player canned a 3 on GC's final possession of the first quarter to go up 20-14; a triple from Suarez made it 20-17 at the horn six seconds later.
Chapman and Cockerham scored the first two baskets of the second quarter to stretch the lead to 7 points, which would be GC's high-water mark. Back-to-back Suarez triples tied the score at 28 with 5:22 left in the quarter and the Wildcats outscored Goshen 15-4 between then and halftime. IWU led 43-32 at the break.
GC wrestled its way back into the game with buckets from Rauck, Roe and Chapman to make a 6-0 run in the third quarter, closing within 48-43. The Maple Leafs also got four straight foul shots to go later that quarter to pull within 52-49, but Suarez broke a two-possession drought with a 3 on IWU's next trip to double the lead to 55-49.
The Wildcats added back-to-back 3-pointers to stretch the lead back into double figures early in the fourth, starting a 10-0 run that led to a 65-50 advantage, but Goshen would retaliate with eight straight points of its own to make it 65-58 with four minutes left. While the Maple Leaf defense held, keeping the Wildcats off the scoreboard for 4:45, the offense missed four straight chances to make it a two-possession game.
Dayton Groninger converted an old-fashioned 3-point play at the 1:20 mark to put IWU back in front by 10, and from there it was a matter of finishing the game at the foul line, where the Wildcats did not miss over the last three quarters.
Each team finished with 38 rebounds and had a middle-of-the-road night in terms of turnovers: Goshen gave the ball up 16 times and IWU 13 with each team converting those into 15 points.
The Indiana Wesleyan win continued a trend of the top seeds winning in the Crossroads League tournament; all four home teams won Tuesday night after going 6-1 or 7-0 in each of the last four tournaments. IWU will host Taylor in a semifinal on Friday while Mount Vernon Nazarene visits Marian.
Goshen's loss concludes the 2020-21 season; all-conference awards are due to be announced next week with NAIA recognition following that. Stay tuned to GoLeafs.net throughout the spring and summer for the latest news on GC women's basketball and each of Goshen College's 14 varsity sports.
Comments from Goshen College head coach Stephanie Miller:
"I am leaving this game with a great deal of pride in this team. We came to play and gave IWU all they could handle on their home floor tonight. That's a good basketball team and we really gave them a battle out there.
"We switched up the defenses a lot this time around and it kept them thinking and slightly out of rhythm. They were taking uncomfortable shots and our zones were keeping them from getting inside the paint, which is what we struggled with in the last game here. I was truly proud of the way these women responded to this challenge tonight. Getting back into the Crossroads League tournament was a big goal of ours and the ladies certainly didn't waste this opportunity. They represented themselves, the team, their families and Goshen College very well tonight.
"It is hard to put into words what these three seniors have meant to this team in their careers here. Claire Rauck, Mariah Roe, and Keyaira Murff are just foundational players and people. They are young women that I am proud to have coached and we will all miss their character and leadership in this locker room. It's tough to say goodbye to them and I certainly feel they have left this program in a better position than when they came in."
