KOKOMO, Ind. – The Indiana University Kokomo women's basketball team knocked off Goshen 76-68 to earn their first win on the season. With the victory, IU Kokomo improves to 1-3 on the season. The Cougars begin River States Conference play this week.

Saturday's win over Goshen is first-year head coach John Kenger's first win as head coach of the Cougars.

The Maple Leafs struck first, taking a quick 2-0 lead before Gabrielle Joyner knocked down a triple to hand the Cougars the lead. Freshman Anya Friend came out of the gates hot for the Cougars, scoring 13 of IU Kokomo's 20 first quarter points. The Cougars and Leafs were tied at 20 after the opening quarter.

Goshen opened the second quarter with a 5-0 spurt, taking a 25-20 lead. Trailing 29-24, the Cougars went on a 9-0 run, taking a 33-24 lead. The Cougars led 40-37 at halftime and did not trail for the remainder of the game.

The third quarter was a bit of a defensive slugfest, but IU Kokomo found a way to outscore the Leafs in the period. Jadah Anderson had six in the quarter to help the Cougars grow their lead to six by the end of the quarter.

IU Kokomo outscored Goshen 8-4 in the first two minutes of the fourth quarter to give the Cougars their biggest lead of the game at 63-53. IU Kokomo did well to keep the lead at five as the Leafs were pressuring full-court for much of the fourth quarter.

Anya Friend, the freshman from Bloomington, Indiana, had a career day against Goshen. Friend had 22 points to lead all scorers. Gabrielle Joyner had 17 points while Tia Chambers added 13.

The Cougars will be back-in-action Tuesday evening as they travel to Owensboro, Kentucky to take on the Brescia Bearcats in the RSC opener. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.

For the latest news, updates, and information on the IU Kokomo Cougars, fans can visit IUKCougars.com. Fans can also stay up to date on the latest Cougar news by following @IUKAthletics on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.