WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

The HU women’s basketball team wrapped up 2020 with a convincing 87-68 win over Rio Grande (3-6) December 19 at Platt Arena. The W sends the Foresters into Christmas break on a high note as they bump up to 4-2 on the year.

These two squads have met up three times during Culler’s tenure with Huntington coming out on top each time. The last outing between these two programs dates back to 2011 when HU trumped URG 66-62.

Aside from a tie on the game’s second possession, the Foresters led from start to finish which included a double-digit lead throughout the entire second half. HU was clicking on all cylinders at both ends of the floor. Defensively, the hosts held a Red Storm crew, who came in averaging nearly 85 points per night, to nearly 20 points below their season average. Today’s outing also proved the Foresters’ highest point total of the year.

A large part of Huntington’s offensive success can be traced back to Jade Clement’s play from beyond the arc. The 5-4 guard drained five threes in the first half. She added another bomb early in the third to finish with a game-best 18 points on 6-for-8 shooting from downtown. When she wasn’t dropping in threes, she was finding an open teammate on her way to handing out a career-high six assists.

Alaina Rongos also came up big for Culler’s crew by racking up a career-tying and game-best 22 points. She also grabbed five boards and rejected two shots.

Sam Vaughn was up to her usual antics. In addition to pouring in 15 points, the senior playmaker also chased down 15 rebounds, five of which were offensive, dished out six dimes and swiped five steals during her 36 minutes of action. Culler also got great production out of her bench with Logan Rowles contributing nine points on 4-for-5 shooting and Konnor Gambrell and Emily Seboe each tossing in seven.

The Foresters shared the ball well as evidenced by 20 of their 29 field goals being assisted. HU shot a season-best 50.9 percent for the game which included knocking down eight of their 16 three-point attempts. They also found their way to the charity stripe 29 times where they connected on 21 for 72.4 percent.

Huntington is off until January 2 when they host Spring Arbor at 1:00 p.m.