WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

The #24 Huntington women’s basketball team handed the visiting Lancers of Grace College its biggest loss of the year, a 77-53 decision, Saturday afternoon at Platt Arena. More significant than the convincing final score, the W snapped a six-game win streak GC held over the Foresters.

The win ups HU’s record to 9-4 on the season, 2-3 in league play. For the Lancers, they drop to 8-6 overall, 3-2 in CL action.

The key to Huntington’s success was handling the Lancers slew of trapping zone defenses that often extended full court. While it wasn’t necessarily a cleanly played game, as evidenced by the two teams combining for 35 turnovers, HU’s ability to execute its game plan more times than not made for a day they enjoyed a lead throughout and pulled away in the final minutes for a lopsided ending.

Offensively, Culler’s crew kept Grace guessing with their inside out game to sustain a double digit advantage most of the afternoon. The Foresters scored 36 points in the paint while another 21 points came from beyond the arc. They finished the contest 29-for-52 for 55.8 percent to post their best shooting performance of the year.

Sarah Fryman topped all scorers with 25 points on 10-for-15 shooting including a pair of triples. She also dished out five assists and grabbed four rebounds. Brooke Saylor did a little bit of everything for her team. She had a double double by halftime on her way to registering 13 points, a season-high 17 rebounds, six of which were offensive, four assists and two steals.

Sophomore point guard Sam Hammel posted big numbers too by collecting 12 points, a career-high eight assists, five rebounds and two steals all the while directing traffic for her team. Maddie Richer dropped in 12 points, all from downtown, while Erin Mohr went 4-for-5 from the field and canned both of her freebies to finish with ten.

The Lancers were paced by Vironnica Drake who poured in 20 points. Brooke Sugg, who averaged 35 points in her previous three games, was held to just 13 points on 6-for-15 shooting.

The game ended much like it started. The Foresters raced out to a 17-6 advantage after the first break and then closed out the game with an 18-2 run. HU’s last spurt came on the heels of the Lancers trimming the lead to eight, 59-51, with just under seven minutes remaining. Fryman led the charge after that by accounting for 11 of her team’s final 18 points.

The Foresters take a break from conference play until the new year. They wrap up the preseason portion of their season by hosting Cumberland next Saturday at 1:00 p.m.