Gophers Finish 0-2 Against ODAC at Las Vegas Hoopla

LAS VEGAS, Nev. — For the second time in as many days, Goucher came up short against a team from the Old Dominion Athletic Conference at the Las Vegas Hoopla this afterrnoon as head coach Patrick Daniel's squad was beaten by Emory & Henry, 69-61.

After supplying the Gophers (4-6) with six points in the first quarter, which ended with the Wasps leading 15-14, Briana Bull (Baltimore, Md./Owings Mills) ignited an 8-0 run by her team at the outset of the second period by knocking down a mid-range jumper and converting a layup. The next two points were provided by Monique Welch (Reisterstown, Md./Franklin) in the form of free throws; a made jumper by Kristi Kozlowski (Kingsville, Md./Redeemer Classical Christian) extended Goucher's advantage to 22-15 with 7:04 remaining in the first half.

Once Emory & Henry's deficit reached eight points with 4:32 left to play in the second quarter, the once-beaten Wasps started launching 3-point attempts and were successful nearly half the time. They went 4-for-6 from long distance over the final 3:41 and were back on top again, 33-32, at the end of the opening half.

Five more 3-pointers out of seven attempts enabled Emory & Henry to pad its lead in the third quarter. The Wasps (7-1) went up by 10 points for the first time on a 3-pointer by Chloe Harris at the 3:55 mark, but the Gophers entered the final period trailing by only six, 52-46.

Goucher outscored Emory & Henry, 9-3, over the opening 4:07 of the fourth quarter, but after the Gophers caught the Wasps at 55-55 on a basket by Bull, they would add only six points to their total the rest of the way. After Emory & Henry regained the lead on a basket by Tamara Brewster, Goucher  went 2-for-8 from the field, missed four free throws and committed three turnovers in the final 5:30.

"We cannot give up wide open shots on defense and continue to miss layups and free throws on offense and expect to give ourselves opportunities to win," according to Daniel. "It is very frustrating because we don't do the little things, but we will continue to work hard because this feeling of losing is just not acceptable and this team needs to understand that."

The leading scorer for each team finished with 21 points. For Goucher, that was Bull; for Emory & Henry, it was Harris, connected five times from 3-point range. As a team, the Wasps were 11-for-23 from long distance (.478).

The Gophers had a second double-digit scorer in Hannah Kuehl (Plymouth, N.H./Plymouth Regional), a senior who lettered four times playing volleyball and came out for basketball for the first time this season. In just her second appearance, Kuehl wound up with 12 points.

In addition to scoring eight points, Jaida Scarborough (Baltimore, Md./Digital Harbor) was credited with eight assists.

The Gophers are now 2-2 against the ODAC in Daniel's first season. They opened 2015-16 with victories over Shenandoah, 61-36, and Roanoke, 78-65; they were beaten by Bridgewater (Va.) in the opening round of the Las Vegas Hoopla, 82-68.

Goucher's next game will be against Immaculata on Saturday, Jan. 2, in the Decker Sports & Recreation Center. The scheduled tip-off time is 2 p.m.