GOSHEN, Ind. - On National Girls and Women in Sports Day, the Goshen women's basketball team ended a 14-game conference losing streak and picked up their first conference win of the season on Wednesday night with a 73-64 win over Taylor. The Trojans were 16-6 and were receiving votes in the NAIA coaches poll going into the contest. This is Goshen's third straight win over Taylor.
With the Trojans up 8-4, the Maple Leafs went on a 10-0 run, with eight points coming from
Carrie Hiler. She hit her third three at the end of the quarter to put the Leafs up 19-13.
The threes kept sinking for Goshen in the second.
Lillian Null hit one on Goshen's first possession of the quarter to go up 22-13. With the lead down to four,
Nasiya Gause hit threes on back-to-back possessions to quickly increase the lead back to ten. She added another with 39 seconds to go in the third quarter to give GC a 39-27 lead going into the half.
Buckets by
Sarah Elfrey and
Kyla Foster to start the third made it a 16-point game, tied for Goshen's largest lead of the evening. The Trojans made it a two-possession game with under a minute to go and forced eight Goshen turnovers in the quarter, but the damage had already been done, as the Leafs won by nine.
Ava Egolf finished with 16 points and a career-high five assists. Her seven field goals is her most in a Crossroads League game.
Carrie Hiler had 16 of her own, matching a career-high for a conference game. It is her fourth game this season with 15 or more points. 11 of her points came in the first quarter, going 4-5 from the floor and 3-4 from three.
Kyla Foster had 11 points and 12 rebounds, her fourth double-double of the season and the eighth of her career. Her seven assists on top of that is a season-high. She had three offensive rebounds in the last two quarters and scored on all three of them.
Lillian Null had a career-high nine rebounds and
Nasiya Gause's 14 points are the most she has had in a conference game. Her three three-pointers tied a career-high.
Goshen's +13 rebound margin is their best since February 8 of last season against Grace. The Leafs had their best shooting percentage (.491) and three-point percentage (.500) since February 15 last season, also against Taylor.
This was the first time the women's and men's teams had swept a conference doubleheader since January 29, 2022, and their first time doing it at home since December 4, 2021.
Goshen is at #6 Saint Francis on Saturday, February 7, at 1:00 pm.
