WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

The #RV HU women’s basketball team clamped down defensively to claim a 56-45 win over the visiting Warriors of Rochester University Tuesday night at Platt Arena. The win bumps Huntington’s record to 4-1 on the year while RU drops to 1-5.

These two squads have squared off three times during Culler’s tenure with HU coming out on top each time which includes a 59-55 road win last year.

On this given night, the Foresters held their visitors to just 14 field goals on 31.1 percent shooting. HU’s defense also forced 20 miscues which they cashed in for 17 points.

While offense didn’t necessarily come easy for the hosts, their only deficit of the night, a 10-9 difference, came midway through the first quarter. Rochester would draw even with Huntington four times after that with the last a 23-23 stalemate at the 6:22 mark of the second quarter.

Sarah Fryman’s triple, her second of the game, put her team on top permanently, 26-23, four minutes before intermission. The 5-9 forward struck again, this time a coast-to-coast layup after a steal, to send the Foresters into the locker room with a 28-23 lead.

After trading buckets several times to start the second frame, Jade Clement’s long ball four minutes into the third sparked a 10-1 run over a two-minute span for a double-digit advantage of 40-28. The Warriors fought back to trim it to eight by the quarter break and then continued to hang around, whittling the lead to six on a handful of occasions to start the fourth.

A quick burst saw Alexandria Bope and Fryman each scored down low after which Sara Doi knocked down a pair of freebies for a 10-point cushion of 50-40 with six minutes to go. Minus one exception, it stayed a double-digit difference the rest of the way. It’s HU’s third win by 10+ points and the second time Culler’s crew has held an opponent to 45 points or less.

Depsite being out-sized at every position, Huntington tracked down 40 rebounds, 16 of which were offensive, to Rochester’s 35. Hammel led the charge with a game-best 11 boards. She also added eight points and dished out a game-leading four assists.

Fryman claimed top scoring honors with 19 points. She also crashed the boards for six offensive rebounds in addition to swiping a game-high four steals. Bope finished with eight points while Doi tossed in six.

Lexey Tobel collected 12 points to pace the Warriors.

HU is back in action this weekend to host their own classic. They tip-off with Lincoln on Friday at 8:00 p.m. and then take on IU Southeast on Saturday at 3:00 p.m.