Roe drops season-high 18 points in Goshen’s return to regular-season action

Senior sinks career-high 8 field goals at IU Kokomo
KOKOMO, Ind. — Mariah Roe nearly doubled her best scoring output of the 2018-19 season with 18 points Monday night as the Goshen College women’s basketball team dropped a 74-68 decision to Indiana University Kokomo on the road at the Cougar Gym.
Roe posted the best shooting night of her career, going 8-for-12 from the floor to surpass a pair of 60-percent performances. Her 8 field goals tied a career high set against IU Kokomo last season but came on 7 fewer attempts.
Caitlyn O’Neal also reached double figures for Goshen (6-8), scoring 10 points and adding season highs of 4 rebounds and 2 steals. Keyaira Murff chipped in 9 points on 4-of-5 shooting.
Tia Chambers led all scorers with 25 points for the Cougars, followed by 16 points from Lakyn Gulley, who hit a game-high four 3-point shots. Quaynika Merriweather’s 11 points rounded out the double-figure scorers.
IU Kokomo led 21-14 after a quarter on the strength of 10-of-16 shooting (62.5 percent) inside the arc, but Goshen responded with a 13-0 run to open a six-point lead with 6:36 left in the half. Chambers personally scored the next 8 points to halt the Leaf momentum and IUK led 36-31 at halftime.
Another 9-point spurt gave Goshen the lead back in the middle of the third quarter, this time with Roe scoring 4 points and Alyson Prigge adding a triple. This time it was Merriweather’s turn to respond, sparking an 8-0 run to give the hosts a 53-49 lead after three periods.
Each team shot better than 50 percent in the fourth quarter with the Maple Leafs sinking four straight shots after an opening miss. Half of O’Neal’s scoring came in a 25-second span as the senior drained a 3-pointer, forced a steal and hit the fast-break layup to tie the score at 59 with 7:29 remaining.
The two sides traded baskets, then misses, then baskets again over the next three minutes, before five points from Gulley opened a 68-61 IUK lead with 2:53 remaining. Prigge added another 3-pointer before a defensive rebound and Graysen Cockerham score brought Goshen back within 68-66 at the 1:49 mark.
Prigge came through on the defensive end, nabbing a steal to give her team the ball back with a chance to tie or take the lead. The Maple Leafs went 0-for-2 on the offensive end, however, and the Cougars hit their next two shots to extend the lead back to 6.
Prigge joined O’Neal in setting a new season high with her second steal and sophomore Logan Kyre recorded a new season best with 4 rebounds, which tied for the team high. Kambrey Jolley’s 10 caroms led all players, as did Abby Scott’s 7 assists, both for IUK.
Each team shot the ball well inside the arc: Goshen was 22-for-35 (62.9 percent) on 2-point attempts while IU Kokomo shot 53.3 percent (24-for-45). The defenses prevailed from long range, however, with both sides shooting south of 30 percent on 3s.
The Maple Leafs conclude the pre-Christmas portion of their schedule on Thursday with a visit to Calumet College of St. Joseph; tip-off is set for 4 p.m. EST.