The Goshen College women’s basketball team hosted the Huntington University Foresters Wednesday night. When these two teams last faced off against each other, Huntington grabbed the victory, 78-63. Although the Leafs improved their overall performance, in the end, it was the Foresters who were able to pull out the 67-55 conference win.
The game started off slow, with Goshen holding on to a 6-5 lead after 5 minutes of play. The Leafs then extended that to a 14-11 difference with some good shooting from Junior Guard Erica Yost.From that point until the end of the first period, the Foresters led the action. Due to some turnovers and poor shooting by Goshen, Huntington went on a 10-0 run, something that the Leafs never recovered from. Going into the break, Huntington led Goshen 35-28.
Throughout the second half, Goshen always seemed to come within a basket or two, only to have Huntington go on a little run and rebuild their former lead.
Both teams were into the bonus with at least 7 minutes left in the game, and then the double bonus shortly after.
The closest the Leafs were to the lead occurred with 5 minutes left in the game. Trailing by 4, Yost drove to the basket, sunk her shot, and drew the foul. After converting the 3-point play, the Leafs only trailed 53-52. But, as before, the Foresters picked up their game and answered with a 7-1 of their own, a margin that only increased as the clock ticked down.
With this latest loss, Goshen moves to 9-18 overall (1-12 in conference).
To qualify for the conference tournament at the end of the regular season, the Leafs need to win two of their three remaining games. Their next contest is their last at home, against Taylor University on February 13 at 1 p.m.
The final two games are against Marian University and Spring Arbor University, two teams that came away with victories against the Maple Leafs in their last encounter.
