Gophers Keep from Being Passed in Standings by Mariners

Roberts-Brown Tallies 11 Points in First Start of 2009-10 Season

KINGS POINT, N.Y. — Elizabeth von Ende (Leawood, Kan./American Hebrew Academy) and Kiara Doughty (Salisbury, Md./Wicomico) scored 14 points apiece and Leia Roberts-Brown (Capitol Heights, Md./Archbishop Carroll), who was in Goucher's starting lineup for the first time this season, added 11 points as the Gophers defeated the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, 58-47, in Landmark Conference action this evening.

The Gophers jumped in front 6-0 at the outset, keeping the Mariners (9-14, 1-11 Landmark) off the scoreboard for the first 4:07. Goucher's lead reached double figures for the first time at 19-8 when Amber Smith (Baltimore, Md./Institute of Notre Dame) converted a layup with 8:02 left to play in the first half.

Doughty provided Goucher with its biggest advantage of the first half (31-11) when she knocked down a jumper with 1:05 remaining, but Merchant Marine closed out the period on a 6-0 run to close to within 31-17.

The nine points von Ende tallied in the second half were all from shots launched behind the three-point stripe. She nailed her first three-pointer just :51 into the period to put the Gophers (6-15, 2-9 Landmark) up 34-19. Several minutes later, the Mariners were back in the game, trailing only 36-26, before the sophomore connected on another three-pointer.

The Mariners, who would have passed Goucher in the Landmark Conference standings with a win, made their final serious threat at overtaking head coach Didi Cotton's squad when they scored 10 straight points over a span of 4:58. But on their first two possessions after Merchant Marine got within 44-41 on a three-pointer by Rebecca Grimes with 4:48 left to play, the Gophers built their lead back up to nine points thanks to a conventional three-point play by Doughty and then von Ende's final long-distance bucket.