After a 40-point win over Michigan-Dearborn, the Holy Cross women’s basketball team took a very close, 86-83 win over Goshen on Wednesday.
While Goshen scored the first two points, the Saints responded with two free throws from senior guard Kayliana Hammel to tie up the score. While the two teams continued to go back and forth, jump shots from senior guard Jordyn Smith and sophomore forward Brooke Lindesmith helped the Saints gain the 6-4 lead. Goshen scored six unanswered points to regain the lead, making the score 10-6. Nearing the end of the first quarter, Goshen held a 10-point lead with a score of 20-10, but with three points from freshman forward Allie Caldwell and two points from junior forward Elizabeth Edmonds, the final score of the quarter was 23-15.
Goshen scored the first three points of the second quarter, extending the score to 25-15, but Hammel responded with two points and Caldwell added three to narrow the score to 25-20. Throughout the quarter, Caldwell kept the score close as she added on seven points to bring the score to 36-29. Senior forward Grace Adams contributed five points to help the Saints to make the score and junior guard Audrey Tallent followed with a jump shot to make the score 42-36. Hammel made a jump shot to round out the second quarter with a score of 42-38 favoring Goshen.
While Goshen held the lead going into the third quarter, Smith made two free throws to make the score 42-40, and while Goshen scored four more points to pull back ahead, Caldwell responded with a three-point shot to make the score 43-42. While the two teams continued to stay within two points of each other throughout the quarter, Goshen pulled ahead in the middle of the quarter, putting up 12 points to take a 61-53 lead. With a jump shot from freshman guard La’Bria Austin, a jump shot from Hammel and a free throw from Caldwell, the Goshen lead dropped to 62-58 at the end of the quarter.
While the two teams scored back and forth, Holy Cross started off the fourth quarter with four points made by Adams and a jump shot from Smith to keep the score tight at 67-63. Nearing the middle of the quarter, while the Saints were trailing 71-70, five points scored by Smith helped pull the Saints ahead by a score of 75-74. A jump shot and two free throws from Adams, a jump shot from Smith and a jump shot and free throw from Lindesmith extended the lead to 84-76. While Goshen made a brief comeback to narrow the margin of Holy Cross' 86-83 victory, Holy Cross' strong defense secured the win.
Adams was a key player throughout the game for the Saints as she finished with a total of 26 points and eight rebounds. Caldwell and Smith also contributed as they both finished with 17 points on the night.
The Saints now prepare to face off against Bethel on Nov. 16 starting at 1 p.m.
