SPRING ARBOR, Mich. – The Spring Arbor University women's basketball team led for 35 minutes in Saturday's Crossroads League showdown against Bethel College, but the Pilots used a late run to pull out a 70-61 win over the Cougars.
The loss dropped Spring Arbor to 6-17 (1-11 CL) on the year while Bethel improved its record to 9-15 (3-9 CL).
The Cougars pounced all over the Pilots early, building an 18 point lead midway through the opening half. Freshman Autumn Goggin scored 11 points during the 25-6 run and sophomore Kylie Townsley and senior Lindsey Burnside capped it with back-to-back layups to put SAU in front 27-9 at the 9:15 mark.
A quick scoring spurt from the Pilots, however, cut the deficit to four with 1:12 remaining in the half. Goggin would sink a jumper with under a minute to play, though, to give the Cougars a 35-29 advantage at the break.
Spring Arbor maintained its lead throughout the second stanza, but Bethel continued to threaten. The Pilots closed within one, 52-51, at the 8:47 mark, but Townsley answered with a driving layup. Then Jessica Mabry forced a BC turnover on the ensuing possession and found Aimee Konkel for the finish to boost the lead back to five.
The Pilots refused to go away, however, and with 4:10 left to play, BC's Madison Schrock – the conference's top three-point shooter – buried a shot from behind the arc to give the Pilots their first lead since the opening moments of the game, 60-58.
Bethel would push the margin to four before Karly Bender drilled a three-pointer from the corner to make it 62-61 with 3:09 remaining. However, the Pilots would close the game on an 8-0 run to seal the win.
The Cougars shot 36 percent (22-for-61) from the field while the visitors connected on 48 percent (27-for-56) of their attempts, including shooting at a 57 percent clip over the final 20 minutes. Spring Arbor held a slight edge in rebounding, though, hauling in 38 boards compared to the Pilot's 37.
Goggin scored a team-high 16 points with five rebounds while Townsley and freshman Faith Johnson added 12 and nine points, respectively. Mabry finished with eight points and five assists and senior LeAnn Porter grabbed a career-high eight rebounds.
Spring Arbor returns to action on Wednesday, Feb. 4 when it hosts Grace College (13-11, 6-6 Crossroads League) at 7 p.m.
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