AVE MARIA, Fla. - The Goshen women's basketball team won their first of two games in Florida on Tuesday afternoon, a 74-52 blowout over Ave Maria. Zion Neat led all scorers with 25 points, tying her career-high.

Ave Maria scored the first six points of the game, the first-ever meeting between the two teams, but that would be their largest lead of the contest. Goshen went on a 41-13 run to give them a 22-point lead in the second quarter. The Maple Leafs were shooting 55% in the first half and went 6-12 from three, compared to 0-4 shooting for the Gyrenes. Ave Maria led in offensive rebounds at that point 6-1, but they were shooting at just 38%.

Goshen had 28 points in the second quarter, making 11 of the 16 shots and going 4-5 from behind the arc. Zion Neat had 15 points at the break, Syanne Mohamed had six points and five rebounds and Lillian Null had eight points on 3-3 shooting, including two three-pointers.

Goshen's offense quieted down in the last two quarters, but the defense held firm. The Leafs held Ave Maria to just one made three-pointer on 13 attempts in the game. Ave Maria's 7.7% three-point percentage is the lowest that GC has held an opponent since forcing Trinity Christian to the same percentage on December 29, 2022.

Neat finished with 25 points and five rebounds. This was her fourth game with 20+ points this season and the tenth of her GC career. Syanne Mohamed had 14 points and 15 rebounds, her fourth double-double of the season and the 14th of her career. It was her fifth career game with 15 or more rebounds. Ava Lickliter had ten points and three assists and Zoe Zellers had seven points and tied a career-high with ten rebounds.

Goshen's game at Florida National was canceled, so the next and final game of the Florida trip will be against New College of Florida on Friday, December 20, at 1:00 pm. New College of Florida was one of five new NAIA members in 2024.