WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Tonight’s contest marked the end of a decade for HU athletics and the women’s basketball team didn’t disappoint by running away with a 62-39 decision over the visiting RedHawks of IU Northwest Monday night at Platt Arena.

It was a strong second half that made for the lopsided affair. After taking just a one-point advantage of 28-27 into the locker room for a rather forgettable opening 20 minutes, the Foresters kicked off the second frame with a 13-point burst to take a commanding 41-27 lead by the midway point of the third quarter. Sarah Fryman led the 13-0 run with six points while Jade Clement kicked it off with a deep three from the corner on HU’s opening play of the half.

There was no looking back as the lead stretched to 18 by the final break and never dipped below that in the fourth. The key was Huntington’s defense that limited IU Northwest to just four points in the third and only eight more in the final ten minutes. After shooting 48.0 percent from the field in the first half, the RedHawks connected on just 25.0 percent of their attempts in the second part of the game thanks for HU’s smothering defense.

Culler’s crew was relentless in their pursuit of the ball as evidenced by swiping 19 steals which not only marks a season-high but is also the most steals since December of 2015 when the Foresters nabbed 21 steals against Great Lakes Christian. Fryman and Clement piled up four each for a season- and career-high respectively.

For the RedHawks, it’s the second time this year they’ve been held to under 40 points as they drop to 6-9 overall.

On the offensive end, despite playing against a much taller team, Huntington secured three more offensive boards than their visitors to outscore IUNW 8-5 on second chance points. They also tallied 28 points in the paint to their visitors’ 16. Also notable was HU nearly doubling up the RedHawks, 19-10, on points off TOs.

Fryman finished with 22 points to top all scorers. It’s the tenth time this season she’s logged at least 20 points. She also collected a game-tying eight rebounds. Alexandria Bope added eight points, seven rebounds and two steals. HU’s other three starters in Erin Mohr, Clement and Sam Hammel each tossed in six points. Hammel also handed out four dimes.

With this win, HU improves to 13-2 on the year. Culler and company jump back into league play on Saturday with a trip to #13 Saint Francis for a 1:00 p.m. tip-off with the Cougars.