MARION, Ind. – The Maple Leafs women's basketball season came to a close on Tuesday night in Marion. In the Crossroads League Tournament Quarterfinals, two-seed Indiana Wesleyan defeated seven-seed Goshen 68-45.
 
The teams were tied 6-6 five minutes into the game. However, the Wildcats scored the last ten points of the quarter and held Goshen to shooting 22.2%. Indiana Wesleyan didn't turn the ball over in the first quarter, whereas the Leafs had six turnovers on their end. IWU had five steals to help create most of those Goshen turnovers.
 
The second quarter was much of the same, with the Wildcats ballooning their lead to 25 at the half. The home team had made five three-pointers at the break while Goshen hadn't made one yet. Indiana Wesleyan was also capitalizing on Goshen's mistakes – scoring 23 points off turnovers compared to two for the Leafs.
 
GC was only outscored by seven in the third, and they started to get into a rhythm to start the final quarter. The Maple Leafs went off on an 8-0 run to start the fourth, led by two three-pointers from senior Emily Brandeberry. Brandeberry had made one three-pointer this season heading into the game but then tripled that total with these two buckets scored within a minute and four seconds of each other. After the second shot went down, IWU was forced to call a timeout to regroup.
 
Goshen outscored the host 19-10 in the fourth quarter. Head coach Stephanie Miller put all five seniors into the game with 3:47 to go, and the group got to leave the court for one last time together with 1:13 remaining. The final score was Indiana Wesleyan, 68, and Goshen, 45.
 
"IWU was the better team tonight, and we had trouble finding our way and getting in sync on either end of the floor, Miller shared.
 
The Wildcats (26-4, 14-3 CL) improved their record at Luckey Arena this season to 14-1. IWU was able to force 20 Goshen turnovers while they had just four. They were also able to capitalize by scoring 32 points off Goshen turnovers. Goshen had four points off of turnovers. "They really cashed in on our mistakes and made us pay by turning them into quick points," said Miller. The 12^th ranked Wildcats had 20 assists, and 12 steals to go with their impressive performance. The Maple Leafs won the rebounding category, 36-34.
 
Freshman Kyla Foster also had a noteworthy performance, scoring nine points from 4-5 shooting.
 
Indiana Wesleyan had won five straight coming into the match with an average margin of victory of 24.2 points per game in those contests. Their previous loss came at Goshen when the Maple Leafs won 65-51 in the upset win. The Wildcats had four double-digit scorers tonight and were led by Lilli Frasure's 15-point, eight-rebound display.
 
IWU will face the six-seed Grace on Friday, February 25 at 7:00 in Marion. Grace beat the three-seed, Saint Francis, 68-62 tonight. In the other matchups, one-seed Marian took care of eight-seed Bethel by a score of 111-57, and four-seed Taylor beat five-seed Mount Vernon Nazarene – 82-70.
 
For the senior class, Taniece Chapman scored 13 points and had nine rebounds. Graysen Cockerham added six points and seven rebounds. Janara Flowers put up six points, three rebounds, and a block. Emily Brandeberry had six points with her 2-2 day from behind the arc. Lastly, Kiarah Copeland contributed defensively with six rebounds and a steal.
 
"I was disappointed in the result tonight and felt like we are a much better team than we showed out there," said Miller, "but what is much harder than this loss is saying goodbye to a class of young women that has meant so much to this program. They came to us when we were in a rebuild and will be leaving the program with the culture, direction, and identity that it takes to win in the Crossroads League.
 
They have taught our young people how this system works and what it takes to get results against some of the best teams in the country. I'm so proud of all they have achieved on the basketball court, on campus, and in this community. It has been my honor to coach this remarkable group, and we will truly miss them all. I'm so proud of how they have represented the college and know they will each do big things in their next chapters of life."
 
The Maple Leafs finish the season with a 13-17 record and a 7-10 regular-season record against Crossroads League opponents. Goshen had compiled five Crossroads League wins in the four prior seasons, but they topped that in just this season alone. With a unique blend of veterans and fresh faces, the Leafs had a special culture that set them up for success. They accomplished a season goal of beating a ranked opponent – doing so twice. They won at #24 Mount Vernon Nazarene 69-61, before beating IWU at home. They nearly did it a third time, taking #6 Marian down to the final minutes in Gunden Gymnasium.
 
The season comes to an end, but there are undoubtedly many smiles to go around after a great year.
 
Stay tuned to goleafs.net and our social media channels for postseason awards and future news through the offseason.