WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

On the road for the first time this season, the Huntington women’s basketball team came up short, 76-63, against IU Northwest Saturday afternoon at the Savannah Center.

The Foresters’ downfall was their defense, especially in the second half. After clinging to a slim 31-30 advantage at the midway point, HU was outscored by five in the third quarter and then had no answer for a RedHawk squad that looked unstoppable in the final stanza. In the comfort of their own arena, the hosts drained all but three of their ten shots from the field. When they weren’t knocking down a shot, they were at the line cashing in on 11 of their 12 attempts to run away with the contest.

The Foresters, on the other hand, hit a wall with about four minutes left in the third. Up 41-34 after Emily Seboe canned a pair of freebies, HU gave up eight straight points to find themselves down by one. Culler and crew temporarily recovered when Seboe hit her sixth triple of the afternoon with 1:26 remaining in the quarter to enjoy a 46-42 advantage but it proved fleeting.

In less than 90 seconds, IUNW reeled off eight points to head into the fourth up by four at 50-46. They continued their tear into the fourth by scoring four more quick points to cap off a 12-0 run. There was no recouping after that as the RedHawks remained in control the rest of the way.

Seboe piled up 26 points, with 21 points coming from downtown, to go along with six boards to lead the game in both categories. Dazia Drake and Maddy Robrock each chipped in nine points.

Karli Miller paced IU Northwest with 15 points while Sarah Martin (14), Michaela Schmidt (13) and Lauren Smolen (10) also landed in double figures for the RedHawks.

HU (2-2) has a quick turnaround as they hit the road again on Tuesday to face Aquinas.