Rough Sailing for Gophers in Cruzin' Classic Opener

MIAMI SHORES, Fla. — Goucher spotted Simpson the first 15 points and the Storm went on to claim an 83-55 victory over head coach Didi Cotton's Gophers this afternoon in the first game of the Cruzin' Classic for both teams.

Two free throws by Dominique White (Lubbock, Texas/Potomac Falls) accounted for Goucher's first points in today's contest. Prior to that, the Gophers missed all five of their field goal attempts, as well as their two free throws, and they committed five turnovers in a span of just over five minutes.

Goucher's first basket was a layup by Jaida Scarborough (Baltimore, Md./Digital Harbor) that made the score 17-4 in favor of Simpson.

The Gophers (3-5) also experienced a dry spell at the end of the first half. Following a layup by Briana Bull (Baltimore, Md./Owings Mills) with 3:14 left to play before halftime, the Storm (8-1) closed out the period with a 10-0 run to assume a 46-16 advantage at the break.

After shooting just 25.9 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes, Goucher improved in the second half, getting 14 of its 30 shots to fall (.467). The Gophers managed to outscore their opponent, 39-37, but never were able to get their deficit under 24 points during the period.

Bull was Goucher's leading scorer as she tallied 12 points, one more than White. MacKenzie Haupt and Katie Ahrenholtz contributed 15 and 12 points, respectively, to the victory, which extended Simpson's winning streak to seven games.

Goucher's Olivia Nono (Silver Spring, Md./Montgomery Blair) was the only player for either team to reach double figures in rebounds. She finished with 12 rebounds, leading the Gophers in that category for the fifth time in the eight games played so far in 2014-15.

The Gophers, who have dropped five in a row since their 70-39 triumph over Penn State-Berks back on November 22, will face Daemon in their second and final game at the Cruzin' Classic at 2 p.m. tomorrow.