Owls Deprive Gophers of Tournament Title

Owls Deprive Gophers of Tournament Title

Jan. 5, 2008

WHITTIER, Calif. - Despite a 26-point effort out of senior Shadae Swan (Baltimore, MD/St. Frances Academy), Goucher came up short against Keene St. tonight in the championship game of the Purple & Gold Poets Classic. The Owls captured the title by defeating head coach Didi Cotton's Gophers, 55-49.

A win would have given the Gophers (5-6) their first in-season tournament championship since they turned back Chestnut Hill, 80-29, and Lynchburg, 71-59, to finish in first place at the Goucher Tip-Off Tournament during the opening weekend of the 1999-2000 season.

The Gophers were just 8-for-29 from the field (.276) in the first half and trailed 34-24 at the break. They were still down by 10 points (51-41) with 6:04 left to play when they went on a tear of eight unanswered points, closing to within 51-49 on a basket by Swan with 2:18 showing on the clock.

Two free throws by Jenn Kinney provided Keene St. (7-4) with its first points in more than four minutes, restoring the Owls' lead to four points with 1:34 remaining. The rest of the way, the Gophers were 0-for-3 from the field and committed a turnover.

Danielle Graveley, who was selected the Most Valuable Player of the Tournament, was the leading scorer for Keene St. as she knocked down a career-high 18 points.

Swan and freshman Taquisha Richardson (Roanoke Rapids, NC/Western) represented Goucher on the all-tournament team. Although she was held to two points in tonight's game, Richardson tallied 18 points and grabbed 20 rebounds during the two games the Gophers played.

Amber Smith (Baltimore, MD/Institute of Notre Dame) had a solid performance against Keene St. as she tallied nine points, grabbed 11 boards and was credited with four steals.