GOSHEN, Ind. – The women's basketball team picked up its sixth conference win of the season after defeating the Mount Vernon Nazarene Cougars at home on Saturday afternoon, 67-60.
The Maple Leafs have already clinched a playoff spot and now have more conference wins than their previous four seasons combined. MVNU led 19-16 after the first quarter and had a seven-point lead at the half. The Cougars played with just five players, which caught up with them in the last two quarters. Goshen started the second half on a 7-0 run to tie the game at 35. By the end of the quarter, Goshen led by four. They had another rally to start the next quarter – scoring the first six in the fourth. They grew the lead to as many as 12 points before winning by seven.
Head coach
Stephanie Miller tipped her hat to MVNU – giving them credit for what they could do while short-handed and how they stepped up to the challenge. However, the situation also put some unusual pressure on Goshen. "We had prepped for something very different than what we saw tonight," she said.
Kyla Foster set a career-high with 20 points and eight field goals. She shot 8-11 from the field and added seven rebounds and four assists. "She really turned it up today and put pressure on their transition defense by pushing the pace," Miller shared. "She is so hard to stop in the open court, and I think she challenged them quite a bit to try and keep her in front of them."
Taniece Chapman had a double-double with 13 points and 19 rebounds. She moves into second place all-time in program history in the rebounding category. Now with 927 rebounds, she passes Dawn Gerber from the class of 1988, who had 923 boards. Six of her 19 rebounds today were on the offensive end. "I was proud of her for being able to reset her mindset in the middle of the game and then get comfortable again and just take over inside," said Miller.
Graysen Cockerham scored 12, and
Janara Flowers had ten. Miller also recognized
Suzanna Yoder and
Sophia Eli for their valuable minutes during a vital stretch that lifted the team when they needed it.
The Cougars (14-13, 8-7 CL) were ranked in the top 25 in field goal percentage but were shooting 30.4% today. The Leafs made 38.2% of their attempts.
Goshen (12-15, 6-9 CL) is on the road on Wednesday, February 16, at Huntington. The tip-off is at 7:00 pm. Saturday, February 19, will be Senior Day at home against Bethel. The women play at 1:00 pm and the men at 3:00 pm. They are also U.S. Highway 20 Cup games.
