WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

The Forester women’s basketball team wrapped up the regular season with a 71-69 decision over Bethel College (10-20, 2-16) Saturday afternoon at Platt Arena. The W is HU’s second over the Pilots this season and ends BC’s year with their 14th straight loss.

It was senior day for Culler’s crew and only fitting that a pair of seniors made sure their team got off on the right foot. Brooke Saylor and Maddie Richer played a role in all of HU’s scoring in the first six minutes of the contest. Saylor scored six points and handed out two assists while Richer dropped in five points and collected a dime to make for a 15-7 advantage.

Aside from a 2-2 tie, the Foresters led the entire afternoon. Their lead ballooned to as many as 24 late in the third but little did anyone suspect they’d need a hefty cushion to ward off their visitors. The Pilots made a fast and furious comeback by reeling off 31 fourth quarter points to drill down their deficit to a single possession on three occasions in the final minute including Maci Heimlich launch from nearly half court at the buzzer to make for the two-point separation by game’s end.

While not much went right for the hosts in the final ten minutes of action, Sarah Fryman hit big four free throws in the final :20 seconds to secure the W.

Leading up the dreadful fourth, HU did plenty of things well. Through the first three quarters, Culler’s crew shot 52.4 percent from the floor, committed just eight miscues while forcing Bethel into 12 TOs and enjoyed a 29-22 rebounding advantage. The second quarter in particular proved most impressive as Huntington outscored the Pilots 22-9 to take a 44-26 lead into intermission.

While it wasn’t exactly how Culler and crew would have scripted the ending, when all was said and done, the Foresters were able to celebrate their four seniors – Mikayla Avina, Casey Morton, Maddie Richer and Brooke Saylor – with a win on their special day. HU has won four of their last five games as they now turn their attention to postseason.

Fryman topped all scorers with 20 points. She also posted five rebounds, four assists and two steals. Saylor canned eight of her 11 shots to finish with 17 points. As is typical, she also dominated the boards with a game-best 11 for her 11th double double of the season.

Erin Mohr added 12 points and three steals. Sam Hammel netted eight points in addition to collecting five rebounds, five assists and three steals.

Maggie Deboy tossed in 13 points to lead Bethel. Maci Heimlich and Kamala Glenn added 12 and 11 points respectively.

The Foresters (18-11) finished fifth in the league standings with an 11-7 record. They will travel to 4th-seeded Saint Francis on Tuesday for a 7:00 p.m. tip-off with the Cougars in the CL tourney quarterfinals.