Gophers Secure Spot in Tournament Finals

Gophers Secure Spot in Tournament Finals

Jan. 4, 2008

WHITTIER, Calif. - Freshman Leia Roberts-Brown (Washington, DC/Archbishop Carroll) had a hand in four of Goucher's final five baskets tonight as the Gophers rallied to defeat Whittier, 58-56, in the opening round of the Purple & Gold Poets Classic.

With the win, head coach Didi Cotton's squad advances to play Keene St. in the tournament's championship game on Saturday. The Owls were also victorious in the opening round as they topped Bethany Lutheran, 65-61.

The Gophers (5-5), who trailed by only one point at halftime despite a dismal .160 shooting percentage (4-for-25) in the opening 20 minutes, were down by five points when Roberts-Brown was credited with an assist on a lay-up by Taquisha Richardson (Roanoke Rapids, NC/Western) with 2:30 remaining that made the score 52-49. Following a pair of free throws by Whittier's Morgan Sabala, Roberts-Brown again got Goucher back to within three points of the Poets (3-5) by converting a lay-up of her own with 1:47 left to play.

Whittier's lead shrunk to a single point when the Gophers' next possession culminated in a lay-up by Richardson. With the clock showing less than a minute left to play, Sabala hit two more free throws to put the Poets up 56-53, but Roberts-Brown made it a one-point contest with another lay-up with :38 remaining.

The Gophers limited Whittier to one shot on the subsequent possession and a defensive rebound by Latisha McCray (Richmond, CA/The Urban School), who had only recently returned from studying in Spain was was playing in her first game of the 2007-08 season, started a fast break that produced yet another lay-up by Roberts-Brown, putting Goucher in the lead, 57-56, with :18 left to play.

With :13 showing on the clock, Sabala committed a costly turnover that forced the Poets to commit a foul. They put Candra Scott (Bowie, MD/Eleanor Roosevelt) on the line and the sophomore guard made the first, but missed the second. Down by just two points, Whittier did get two shots off before the buzzer sounded, but neither went in.

Goucher's Shadae Swan (Baltimore, MD/St. Frances Academy), the leading scorer in the Landmark Conference going into tonight's game at 23.3 points per contest, supplied the Gophers with 19 points. Richardson registered the second double-double of her freshman season as she tallied a career-high 16 points and collected 12 rebounds.

The only double-digit scorer for Whittier was Kourtney Zilbert, who finished with 14 points.