Blazers Encounter Trouble Scoring, Bow to Gophers

Goucher's Third Straight Win Over In-State Rival Evens Series at 4-4

TOWSON, Md. — Goucher was leading Hood by only two points in the Decker Sports & Recreation Center tonight before the Blazers encountered some trouble when it came to scoring points.

After reducing their deficit to 17-15 on a layup by Jen Willison with 12:02 remaining in the first half, the Blazers missed their next nine shots from the field and committed 13 turnovers the remainder of the period. Things didn't improve at the outset of the second half either as Hood failed to score a point on its first 11 possessions.

The Gophers (3-5) took advantage of the situation, opened up a 30-17 lead by halftime and then coasted to a 55-37 non-conference victory.

Although the Blazers (1-5) never held the lead the entire game, they pulled even with the Gophers at 11-11 on a three-point basket by Kameran Evans with 14:21 remaining in the first half. Goucher's subsequent possession culminated in a layup by Amy Smith (Logan Twp., N.J./Paulsboro) that put Goucher ahead to stay.

The Gophers used a run of 13 unanswered points to expand their advantage to 30-15 in the final minute of the first half, but with only :12 showing on the clock, Jessica Talley got a jumper to fall for Hood that made it a 13-point game at the break.

Goucher extended it lead to 36-17 on a layup by Abby Paris (Owings Mills, Md./Owings Mills) 4:43 into the second half. Hood's first points of the period were the result of a layup by Evans after 6:26 had elapsed.

The biggest lead of the contest was the 23-point cushion a jumper by Kelsey Myette (Binghamton, N.Y./Seton Catholic Central) game the Gophers with 1:24 left to play.

Each team had one double-digit scorer: for Hood, it was Evans with 15 points; for Goucher, Amber Smith (Baltimore, Md./Institute of Notre Dame) finished with 13 points.

This was the eighth meeting between the two in-state rivals since Goucher became affiliated with the NCAA in 1987-88 and the win was the third in a row and fourth overall for the Gophers.