Missed Opportunities Stricken Gophers in Loss

TOWSON, Md. — An opportunity arose late in the fourth quarter as Goucher was staring at a 52-47 deficit. A technical foul was called on Melissa Errico which gave Patrick Daniel's squad two free throws and possession of the ball. Briana Bull (Baltimore, Md./Owings Mills) notched one of the two free throws and seconds later, the Gophers turned the ball over, which led to a made 3-point shot by Jayni Webster on the other end.

Unfortunately, that was the trend of tonight's matchup as Goucher fell to Catholic 64-51.

Numerous times throughout the contest, the Gophers (8-14, 3-10 Landmark) missed a shot that would've either put them up one-point or turn a two possession game into one. Though, when the home team eventually capitalized on a mistake, the Cardinals drove back down the court and made a basket to extend their lead.

Goucher missed its first four shots of the game until Bull sunk a free-throw with 8:11 left on the clock to cut Catholic's lead to two. Olivia Nono (Silver Spring, Md./Montgomery Blair) and Amaka Ezeani (Silver Spring, Md./Paint Branch) then hit shots to tie the game up at 3 and 5 apiece but the visiting team found a way to take the lead.

The Cardinals (14-8, 9-4 Landmark) went on a 6-1 run midway through the first to take the 14-8 advantage but the Gophers found themselves in striking distance after Bull made another free throw and India Perkins (Brentwood, Md./Bladensburg) nailed a mid-range jumper. Trailing by four with 22 seconds on the clock, Bull obtained possession for the final shot of the first quarter and made it count — knocking down a deep 3-pointer as time expired to cut the lead to one.

Payton Smith opened up the second quarter with a jumper to extend Catholic's lead back to three but Goucher cut it down to one-point, three times in the next four minutes of action.

The Gophers' best opportunity came after Perkins drove the lane and made a layup with 4:25 in the second. Goucher turned the ball over in its next three possessions, and then fouled Josephine Migash who extended Catholic's advantage back to three.

Bull scored the team's final four points to send Goucher into the locker room trailing 28-24.

Hannah Kuehl (Plymouth, N.H./Plymouth Regional) scored the home team's first points in the third quarter with 7:32 on the clock. Goucher missed six shots prior to that point which allowed Catholic to extend the lead to eight.

The Cardinals' first 10-point lead came off a three-point play by Migash midway through the third. As time expired, sending the contest into the fourth, the Gophers trimmed that lead to five as they closed out the quarter with a 8-3 run.

Catholic didn't miss many shots in the final quarter of play as the team registered a point in five of its six opening possessions and in five of its last seven.

Migash led the charge for the Cardinals as she notched 14 points. Michelle DeSantis added 13 while Errico (11) and Jayni Webster (10) tallied double-digits.

Bull scored 14 points for the home team while Ezeani had 12. Perkins scored 12 points and had 11 rebounds for her second double-double on the season.

Goucher travels to Scranton on Saturday to face the Royals. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m.