Fourth Quarter Miscues Seal the Gophers' Fate

SELINSGROVE, Pa. — Despite an early deficit, Goucher played side-by-side with Susquehanna until the final quarter arrived. The Crusaders opened up the fourth with a 10-0 run, and never looked back, as Patrick Daniel's squad fell 65-51 in Landmark Conference action.

Throughout the contest, the Gophers (8-16, 3-12 Landmark) fell into a hole but did everything they could to claw back into the game. Trailing by five points at the start of the fourth, the visiting team needed one more push. Unfortunately, it didn't come. Nine missed shots and four turnovers later — all within a span of five minutes — the Crusaders held a 58-41 advantage.

At that point, Susquehanna cruised to its 16th win, keeping the playoff hopes alive.

Olivia Nono (Silver Spring, Md./Montgomery Blair) sunk her second basket of the night with 6:38 remaining in the first quarter. Unfortunately for Goucher, that made jumper was the only point in its next 10 possessions. Susquehanna closed out the first with a 14-4 run, taking a 23-12 lead into the second.

Briana Bull (Baltimore, Md./Owings Mills) scored the Gophers' first six points in the next quarter to cut the lead to five. A layup by India Perkins (Brentwood, Md./Bladensburg) and a jumper by Monique Welch (Reisterstown, Md./Franklin) capped a 10-1 run in favor of Goucher.

Susquehanna took a 28-24 lead into the half.

The Crusaders (16-7, 9-6 Landmark) extended its advantage to eight, a minute and a half into the third quarter but Goucher stuck around. Amaka Ezeani (Silver Spring, Md./Paint Branch), Hannah Kuehl (Plymouth, N.H./Plymouth Regional), Perkins and Bull all made shots to hold the deficit to less than three but the 'big stop or shot' wasn't there for the visiting team to take a lead as Susquehanna held a 46-41 edge at the start of the fourth.

Angie Schedler had no issue against the Goucher defense, scoring 29 points — 15 of which came from beyond the arc. Sofie Schedler added 10 points while Nicole Gault notched seven points in the win.

Ezeani tallied 14 points for the Gophers while Bull finished with 11 on the night.

Goucher welcomes Merchant Marine to the Decker Sports & Recreation Center on Saturday in its last game of the 2015-16 season. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m. The seniors will be recognized prior to the start of the contest.