GOSHEN, Ind. – The Goshen women's basketball team thrillingly started the 2022-23 season as they returned from a 15-point deficit against William Jessup (California) on Friday afternoon. The Maple Leafs won 75-68 on day one of the Ruth Gunden Memorial Classic.
 
Goshen scored the first six points of the game, but the Warriors scored the next six. The visitors started to create a slight separation in the second quarter and had a six-point lead at the half. It took a while for the Leafs to find a groove in the third quarter as William Jessup started with a 12-3 run to take a 15-point lead at 51-36. The lead was still at 12 as the teams headed into the final quarter, but things started to change in favor of Goshen.
 
The Maple Leaf faithful started to make some noise as Sa'drea Rougeau stole the ball and hit a three-pointer to cut the deficit from ten to seven. Ten seconds later, Kyla Foster added another steal, and Syanne Mohamed hit a shot to force William Jessup to call a timeout.
 
Goshen took their first lead since late in the first quarter when Kyla Foster sunk a three to go up 61-60 with 5:22 remaining in the game. That was just the start of an 11-0 run for GC – causing four turnovers for the Warriors in the process. The Maple Leafs took the lead up to ten before winning 75-68.
 
Goshen had 18 turnovers in the first two quarters but just five in the latter half of the contest. William Jessup was 16-18 from the free-throw line but shot just 13% from behind the arc, including going 0-4 in the fourth quarter. On the other hand, Goshen was 1-12 on threes in the third quarter, but made all five of their three-point attempts in the fourth quarter.
 
Rougeau led the team with 17 points. She also contributed four rebounds, three steals, and two assists. Mohamed totaled 13 points and eight rebounds on 6-9 shooting. Foster scored 11 points, six rebounds, six assists, and three steals. Transfer Zion Neat finished with 13 points, five rebounds, and two assists.
 
This was the first-ever matchup between the two schools, but Warriors' head coach Corey Laster was back on his old stomping grounds. He attended Taylor University and was added to their Hall of Fame in 2010. This was the team's first game in Indiana.
 
In the day's first game, Saint Francis (Ind.) defeated Trinity International 78-22. Saturday, Goshen faces Trinity International at 12:10 pm for day two of the Ruth Gunden Memorial Classic. Saint Francis and William Jessup play each other at 10:00 am.