Cardinals Pull Away in Second Half for 78-62 Victory
WASHINGTON, D.C. — With Elizabeth von Ende (Leawood, Kan./American Hebrew Academy) knocking down two shots from 3-point range, Goucher stormed out to a 12-2 advantage over Catholic this evening. The Gophers stayed in front for more than 13 minutes before the Cardinals caught them at 27-27 on a basket by Liz Briones with 4:54 remaining in the first half.
Four of Goucher's Five Starters Reach Double Figures in Points
WASHINGTON, D.C. — With Elizabeth von Ende (Leawood, Kan./American Hebrew Academy) knocking down two shots from 3-point range, Goucher stormed out to a 12-2 advantage over Catholic this evening. The Gophers stayed in front for more than 13 minutes before the Cardinals caught them at 27-27 on a basket by Liz Briones with 4:54 remaining in the first half.
The Gophers went back up by as many as three points in the opening moments of the second period before Catholic, which had already clinched a spot in the upcoming Landmark Conference playoffs, went ahead to stay during a 17-3 run that lasted slightly longer than five minutes. The Cardinals would go on to open up as much as a 21-point lead before settling for a 78-62 victory.
von Ende connected for a third time on a 3-pointer with 7:52 remaining in the first half to extend Goucher's lead to 25-19. The junior guard/forward tallied 13 points in the opening 20 minutes of play, including a layup with :26 showing on the clock to create a 32-32 tie. The Cardinals (17-8, 9-5 Landmark) walked off the court at halftime with a one-point lead thanks to a free throw by Jill Woerner.
The Gophers (3-20, 3-11 Landmark) regained the lead on their first possession of the second half, which ended with Taquasia Lambert (Brooklyn, N.Y./Patapsco) scoring in the paint. Two free throws by von Ende pushed the advantage to 36-33.
Catholic's decisive 17-3 run started with a jumper by Briones, who finished with a game-high 23 points. When it ended, the Cardinals were up 52-41 with 10:53 left to play.
Following a layup by Lambert that reduced Goucher's deficit to 52-43, the Cardinals reeled off 10 unanswered points and took a 62-43 lead on a 3-point basket by Holly Janicki with 8:46 remaining.
Despite going 0-for-5 from the field in the second half, von Ende still wound up as Goucher's leading scorer with 15 points. Precious Kollock (Baltimore, Md./Patapsco) added 12 points, while Lambert and Leia Roberts-Brown (Capitol Heights, Md./Archbishop Carroll) chipped in with 10 apiece.
Catholic's Katarina Owunna matched von Ende's 13-point effort in the first half and wound up with 19 points.