WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

The #22 Huntington women’s basketball team had their hands full with Bethel University (6-12, 0-6) Saturday afternoon at Platt Arena but finally shook loose in the fourth quarter to sneak past the Pilots 71-63. HU has strung together seven straight wins over BU as they improve to 15-3 overall, 4-2 in league play.

Things looked bleak for the Foresters as they faced a 54-48 deficit a minute-and-a-half into the fourth but a nifty play got the hosts on track. Erin Mohr whizzed a pass across the lane to Sam Hammel who did a reserve spin for an easy lay-in to ignite a 19-3 run. Jade Clement nailed two from downtown during the stretch while Sarah Fryman put the finishing touches on the burst by dropping in six points in a two-minute span to tilt the scales in favor of Huntington 67-57 with just over a minute remaining.

Fryman would go on to bury four freebies to solidify the win. The 5-9 forward finished with 27 points to lead all scorers. She also grabbed a game-best nine boards to just miss out on the double double. Clement was dangerous from deep with all 15 of her points coming beyond the arc. She also corralled a career-best five rebounds and snagged two steals over the course of the afternoon.

Mohr had one of the best all-around performances of her career. In addition to netting 11 points, she also tracked down eight rebounds, six of which were offensive, and posted four assists, two blocks and two steals. Hammel orchestrated the Foresters’ offense and did not disappoint by recording a career-best ten dimes to go along with seven rebounds and five points.

Leading up the Foresters’ ferocious fourth quarter comeback, the Pilots were on pace for the upset. The visitors led by ten on two different occasions in the opening 20 minutes with their last double-digit advantage of 26-16 coming midway through the second quarter. Culler’s crew has been in this position before and as they’re accustomed to, they just kept battling. The result was a two-point game, 31-29, by intermission.

The Pilots continued to pressure their hosts in the third by knocking down three of their 12 triples to cling to a four-point advantage heading into the final ten minutes. Huntington tightened up defensively and the pay-off was striking as they held BU scoreless for a stretch of five minutes in the fourth to set the stage nicely for the come-from-behind victory.

Savannah Feenstra racked up 14 points, 12 from long range, to pace Bethel. Kelsey Brickner added 11 points while three other Pilots finished with eight points. HU held Bethel 18 points below their season average.

The Foresters finished with 19 offensive rebounds on the way to outrebounding the Pilots 46-41. Culler and company also limited their miscues to 13 while forcing Bethel into 21 TOs which they cashed in for 18 points.

Huntington road trips to Indiana Wesleyan on Wednesday for a 5:00 p.m. matchup with the #RV Wildcats.