Gophers Bring Down Curtain, Lower Boom on Cardinals

Smith Goes Out with 18-Point, Eight-Rebound Effort in 71-67 Win

TOWSON, Md. — Goucher recorded its first victory over Catholic in the Decker Sports & Recreation Center since the 2003-04 season when the Gophers brought down the curtain on their 2009-10 campaign by turning back the Cardinals, 71-67, in Landmark Conference action this evening.

Elizabeth von Ende (Leawood, Kan./American Hebrew Academy) was the game's leading scorer as she furnished the Gophers with 23 points. She was 6-for-11 from the field, including 2-for-4 on three-point attempts, and missed only one of the 10 free throws she was awarded.

In the final game of her career at Goucher, Amber Smith (Baltimore, Md./Institute of Notre Dame) turned in an 18-point, eight-rebound performance. The senior forward was also credited with four assists and two blocked shots; she concludes her four seasons with the Gophers as their all-time leader with 82 blocked shots.

A run of 13 unanswered points that started with a conventional three-point play by Kiara Doughty (Salisbury, Md./Wicomico) and included three-point field goals by Leia Roberts-Brown (Capitol Heights, Md./Archbishop Carroll) and von Ende allowed the Gophers (7-17, 3-11 Landmark) to open up a 37-22 lead with 3:36 remaining in the first half, but the Cardinals (12-13, 4-10 Landmark) managed to fight their way back and trailed by only five (39-34) at the break.

Goucher's lead fluctuated between three and nine points during the first 15:22 of the second half before Catholic narrowed the gap to 61-59 on a pair of free throws by Jenny McGann. With 2:57 remaining, the Cardinals closed to within 62-61 on a layup by Jill Woerner, but von Ende essentially sealed the outcome by making two foul shots with :16 left to play.

Doughty contributed 14 points to the win and missed the second double-double of her career by one rebound. She achieved the first one as a freshman when she tallied 12 points and grabbed a dozen rebounds when the Gophers defeated Catholic, 80-73, in the nation's capital in the final game of the 2008-09 season.

Woerner finished with 14 points to capture scoring honors for the Cardinals, who were missing Brianna Peterson, the leading scorer in the Landmark Conference at 19.0 points per game.