On Wednesday, Feb. 4, Goshen College’s men’s and women’s basketball teams both took victories in a doubleheader, as both Maple Leaf sides overcame the Taylor Trojans inside the Ruth Gunden Gymnasium.
The Trojan men are currently ranked 24th in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics and the Trojan women are receiving votes.This game marked the second victory in a row for the men, who snapped their three-year losing streak in conference the game before against Marian. It also marked their first win in conference play this season.
On National Girls and Women in Sports Day, it was the women’s team that took to the court first. After a slow start, the Trojans took a marginal lead.
Carrie Hiler then stepped up and scored eight points for GC, and was the main contributor in a 10-point run. The Leafs ended the first quarter with a six-point advantage.
The Leafs continued to score from three-point range in the second quarter. Senior guard Lillian Null opened their account for the quarter to extend the lead to nine, before Taylor reduced the deficit to just four.
With just two baskets separating the teams, up stepped Nasiya Gause, scoring two three-pointers to increase the Leaf’s advantage into double digits.
The Leafs took a 12-point advantage into the halftime break, and never looked back. They extended their lead to 16 thanks to baskets from Sarah Elfrey and Kyla Foster.
Despite the fact the Trojans went on a 7-0 run in the final quarter, the early lead established by GC was enough for them to secure a nine-point victory with a scoreline of 73-64.
Following a tough loss to the Marian University Knights on the previous Saturday, head coach Tyra Carver wanted her team to bounce back for this game. “I spent a lot of time that Sunday, in particular adjusting our process, reevaluating the film, seeing where we could be better, looking over our practice plans and finding better ways to help this team out,” she said.
Carver also explained that their preparation for this game looked different than usual. “We adjusted the day we did film and scout. We pushed that back two days to give the girls more time to look at that,” said Carver.
As mentioned, this marks the first conference win for the Maple Leaf women this year. While this puts the team in 10th place out of 10 teams in the Crossroads League standings, Carver has seen steady improvement from her players this season.
“I think there’s still work that needs to be done. Obviously our record doesn’t reflect us being a good team on paper, but I think we are definitely making strides for the future,” Carver said.
The men’s game tipped off 45 minutes after the conclusion of the women’s game. The Trojans charged into a seven point advantage early, but an 8-1 run by the Leafs tied the game up at 10.
Taylor then opened the gap to hold a lead as big as 14 points before the interval. This was largely due to Taylor’s efficiency on field goals, knocking down 55% of their shots. The Leafs did not hold a lead at all in the first half as the Trojans held a comprehensive advantage at a score of 41-30.
The Leafs still trailed by double digits with just over four minutes left to play in regulation.
In desperate need of a reply, junior Kamren Williams stepped up, scoring three shots from beyond the arc in three Goshen possessions to bring the Leafs to within touching distance. Williams’ hot streak continued as he knocked down an and-one and converted the free throw to bring it to a tie game at 71.
The Trojans had a couple of chances to win the game, but couldn’t get their shots to fall, bringing the game to overtime. This was the second time in four games that the Leafs went into overtime. The previous occasion saw the Indiana Wesleyan Wildcats rally to win by nine points.
The Leafs took their first lead of the contest in overtime, with Braden Allen converting on a two point play. Neither team could impose authority during the overtime period, with the largest lead being two points.
Sophomore Kenny May stepped up for the Leafs, scoring two field goals. With 20 seconds left to go, the Trojans were penalized for goaltending on a shot from Saiveon Williams, giving the Leafs a one point lead with one possession left to play.
The Trojans had a chance to retake the lead, but failed to convert. They won the ball back with 1.2 seconds left to play and called a timeout. The resulting play saw them miss a two-point shot, giving the Maple Leafs the victory on a score of 79-78.
Both of the Maple Leaf victories came on a one-point margin. Dwight Gingerich, head men’s basketball coach, emphasizes discipline for his team in games that are decided on such fine margins.
“I think it’s a matter of just trying to really focus on doing things the right way, playing defense without fouling, executing more crisply, playing together [and] not being content with taking the first shot, but trying to work for the best opportunity,” said Gingerich.
Gingerich, who also serves as athletic director, has noticed a positive shift in the GC athletic department since he took over in the summer. “I just see all the coaches being passionate and really advocating for their squads and doing what they can to put them in the best place possible to be successful. Everybody’s very committed. I feel very good about the camaraderie in the department,” he said.
Gingerich also noted the positive relationship between him and Carver. “I feel like she’s a great encourager for me. We try to do that for each other. I think we both recognized that it was going to be uphill starting and I just really appreciate her spirit from the minute I met her,” he said.
Carver echoed this sentiment: “I think we both inspire each other, truthfully, I told Dwight after that game, ‘That was real inspiring to see you guys rally through and pull through in that game,’ … me and Dwight are always uplifting each other to stay locked in and keep grinding, so we definitely do inspire each other.”