WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

First game jitters may have gotten the best of the #RV Huntington women’s basketball team Tuesday night at the Schaefer Center as they dug themselves in an early hole to eventually suffer an 81-61 loss to #9 Indiana Tech.

That hole was a 21-point disparity after the first quarter of play. Things didn’t get too much better over the next ten minutes as the Warriors’ rim seemed to get bigger and bigger as the half progressed. The hosts missed just nine shots in the opening period on the way to knocking down 22 field goals, half of which were long balls.

At the other end of the floor, the Foresters managed just 23 points by way of eight field goals and five freebies. It made for a glaring 57-23 difference by intermission.

A chance to regroup at halftime served the visitors well and proved just what they’re made of. Instead of throwing in the towel, Culler’s crew played with abandon to outscore their hosts by five points in the third quarter. They would go on to extend their defense full court in the fourth to knock off another nine points from their deficit. When all was said and done, HU outscored one of the nation’s best by 14 in the second half.

The Foresters, after watching Tech sizzle the nets for 71 percent in the first half, limited them to just 9-for-28 shooting in the final 20 minutes which included giving up just one from beyond the arc. HU also forced 12 second half turnovers.

Sam Hammel paced Huntington offensively with 16 points with half of those points coming from the charity stripe. The sophomore point guard also pulled down seven rebounds, five of which were of the offensive variety, and handed out three dimes.

Sarah Fryman scored all but two of her 15 points in the second half. Maddie Richer tossed in nine points. Brooke Saylor added eight points and ripped down a game-high 16 caroms.

Next up for Culler and crew is a road trip to Grand Rapids for the WHAC/Crossroads League Classic. The Foresters (0-1) will face Cornerstone on Friday and Aquinas on Saturday.