A big second quarter on both ends of the court propelled the Goshen Lady Warriors to a 68-35 win over Batavia on Thursday, December 6.
Goshen out-scored Batavia 22-5 in the period, led in large part by Paige Garr, who finished the game with 24 points and 12 rebounds.
Batavia was in the game for most of the first quarter. Goshen held a 19-13 lead after one period, but eventually Goshen’s size became too much for the Lady Bulldogs to handle.
“We didn’t get our own shots to fall,” Batavia head coach Eric Brown said. “Their bigs were really on tonight, and we weren’t ready for bigs tonight. We were trying to focus on our size, and the bigs just dominated the game and grew it much more than we were ready for tonight.”
Goshen head coach Mark Short said he felt that the Lady Warriors could use their size to gain an edge over the Lady Bulldogs.
“We felt like we could take advantage of that,” Short said. “Our kids finished tonight, which was a big difference in the game.”
Goshen held a 41-18 lead at halftime and owned a 58-27 lead after three quarters. Despite allowing 68 points, Brown said he didn’t think the team’s defense played badly.
“I think our defense did OK,” Brown said. “We changed up our defense tonight, and with the bigs just reaching over our guys…”
Goshen held a decisive edge on the glass, picking up 42 rebounds while Batavia managed to grab 23. Rebounding had been key in the team’s last few contests, according to Short.
“The last two games, we’ve really hit the boards hard,” Short said. “That’s something we’ve stressed to our bigs to take pride in, and they’ve done a good job of that.”
Defensively, Short said Goshen tried to take the game to Batavia to prevent the Lady Bulldogs from getting off easy shots.
“We’ve never really trapped,” Short said. ”We felt that if we sat back too long, they shoot it really well. We tried to extend it up a little bit, make them put it on the floor a little bit in the second quarter, and that’s where we made our big run.”
Offensively, Garr and two other Lady Warriors finished in double-figures. Kara Williams recorded 11 points and 11 rebounds, while Whitney Turner chipped in 11 points of her own. Kaitlin Pfau added 8 points, and Sami Huhn tallied four, as did Abby Strunk and Gaby Maco.
“We had kids come off the bench and contribute in many facets, which makes it a good night all the way around,” Short said.
Olivia Patel led Batavia with 13 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists. Taylor Myers added 7 points, while Summer Stith and Marianna Marcelli each tallied 5. Brown said he feels that the team is starting to play together as a unit.
“We’re growing,” Brown said. “I think as a team, we’re looking more toward each other for help. We’re starting to communicate better with each other out there. For picking up a new style of defense in the last couple days, I think they handled that well out there as well.”
Both teams were back in action on Monday, December 10. Goshen defeated Middletown Madison 43-23 to improve to 5-1 on the season. Garr finished with 15 points and 7 rebounds, while Huhn tallied 11 points.
Batavia defeated Woodward 56-31, improving to 2-3 this year. Stith led all scorers with 15 points. Patel added 10 points, while Kennedy Williams and Erin Brown each recorded 10 rebounds.
Batavia returns to action on Thursday, December 13 with a home league bout against Western Brown. Goshen visits Clinton-Massie.