GOSHEN, Ind. - The Goshen women's basketball team is heading into the Christmas holiday full of joy after back-to-back wins. The Leafs defeated IU-Kokomo 76-67 on Thursday after dominating IU-Columbus 86-48 on Saturday.

Goshen started the game on a 10-0 run and didn't allow the the Cougars to score for the first six minutes of the first quarter. The first quarter was the lowest-scoring quarter for both teams, and Goshen led 14-6 heading into the second. The Leafs increased the lead by another six points in the second quarter to go up 36-22 at the break.

The Cougars outscored the Maple Leafs by five in the last two quarters and scored more points quarter by quarter. However, the lead established by Goshen early on was enough to hold off the Cougars. Goshen had a 16-point lead in the third quarter that dwindled down to four and shot back up to 12 heading into the fourth quarter. IU-Kokomo came within five points with under two minutes to go, but Lillian Null, Carrie Hiler and Kyla Foster got the required offense to put Goshen on top in the end.

The Leafs only shot 28% from deep, but they held IU-Kokomo to 17% behind the arc as well. This is the second straight game Goshen has outrebounded its opponent and the third time this season. Kyla Foster scored a career-high 23 points. Her nine field goals made is also a career-high. She shot a career-best 75% from the floor (among games with four or more attempts). Ava Egolf finished with ten points - her sixth straight game with eight or more and her third this season in double figures.

Carrie Hiler scored 15 points in 20 minutes. She was 8-8 at the free-throw line - the most by a Maple Leaf while being perfect since Sophia Sears went 9-9 on January 16, 2016 against Marian. She added four rebounds, tying a career-high. Zy'Ann Phinezy scored in double figures for a fifth-straight game. She had a season-high seven free-throws and tied a season best with three assists.

Goshen is at Holy Cross College on Tuesday, December 30 at 2:00 pm. This game was originally a home game but was moved to a road contest.