Goucher Women's Basketball Drops Tilt To Shenandoah, 63-55

BALTIMORE, Md. – Goucher College lost 63-55 to Shenandoah University in non-conference women's basketball action on Wednesday.

Alayna McFadden (Silver Spring, Md./Montgomery Blair) stuffed the stat sheet to pace the Gophers with 17 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals. McFadden notched her fifth game this season with at least 17 points and sixth double-figure game this season. It is also the third time this year the sophomore has registered at least six rebounds and three assists while the three steals were a season best.

Anise Williams (West Palm Beach, Fla./The Benjamin School) added 10 points, four assists and four steals. Williams, who is 11 points away from 500 points for her career, has registered 10+ points in six of the seven games this season and 26 of 31 career games. The sophomore also had three assists and four steals for the fourth time in 2019-20 and the 11th time in her career.

Jorryn Avery (Glen Burnie, Md./Severn School) chipped in 10 points in the loss. Avery has registered at least nine points in all three games she has played this year and now has four career double-figure performances. 

Shenandoah, the defending 2018-19 Old Dominion Athletic Conference Tournament champion, jumped out to a 16-7 lead after the first quarter thanks to six unanswered points to close the quarter and then extended its lead to 27-15 going into the locker room.

The Hornets then extended its lead to 38-20 with 5:46 left in the third quarter before Goucher went on a 12-2 run to cut the margin to 40-32 with 3:32 remaining in the period. It was a 3-point barrage by the Gophers with McFadden going deep twice while Avery and Claire Flynn (Annapolis, Md./Broadneck), who went to the bank after hours on her trey, both hit triples in the surge. Shenandoah closed the frame on an 11-2 run to grab a 51-34 margin after three quarters.

In the fourth with the Hornets holding a 59-42 lead, the Gophers closed the game by scoring 13 of the final 17 points to set the final score at 63-55. Williams had six points in the run.

After registering a career-high 25 points and 13 rebounds in her first career game at Decker Sports and Recreation Center on Sunday, freshman Kyani Quarles (Houston, Texas/Cristo Rey Jesuit) posted four points and seven rebounds. Shelby Apostol (Oxnard, Calif./Saint Bonaventure) added eight points and Flynn chipped in six points on the night.

Goucher returns to action when it opens up Landmark Conference play at home against No.3 University of Scranton. Game time is 4 p.m.