WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

It took an extra five minutes for the Huntington women’s basketball team to dispose of Saint Francis, 77-75, Saturday afternoon at Platt Arena. With today’s win, HU improves to 4-4 overall which includes a 2-1 league record.

Emily Seboe led a balanced Forester attack in the OT. The senior forward opened up overtime with her third long ball of the afternoon and then knocked down a pair of freebies with 1:30 remaining to reclaim a one-point Huntington advantage, 74-73, for the second of four lead swaps in the final two minutes.

It was a march to the free throw line the rest of the way. The Cougars (8-3, 1-2) cashed in on two free tosses right after Seboe’s trip to the line but Gabi Melby had the final say. The HU jack of all trades hit both of her attempts at the charity stripe with 22 ticks remaining to put her team on top at 76-75 with only one defensive stop away from the win.

The Foresters were up for the challenge as they forced a Saint Francis miss that Seboe pounced on in the scramble for the ball with 2.3 seconds to go. A timeout allowed HU to advance the ball to midcourt where Melby received the entry pass and was fouled with 1.3 seconds remaining. The rest, as they say, was history as she added one more point to the lead after which time expired before the visitors could throw up a hail mary.

Bailey Kelham and Olivia Raby were also instrumental in the extra frame. Kelham’s driving layup sandwiched a pair of Raby buckets down low midway through the OT as the rookie duo set the stage for Seboe and Melby’s late-game heroics.

Not only did Maggard’s freshmen come up big in overtime, but the twosome also accounted for more than half of their team’s overall offense on the day. Kelham needed just nine shots to put up a game-leading and career-best 24 points which included draining four triples. Raby poured in 20 points and snarled five boards.

Seboe also logged double digits with 11 points in addition to corralling a team-high seven rebounds and swatting two shots. Laura Valiente-Marin tossed in seven, which included five straight points early in the fourth that dug the hosts out of a 52-47 hole. Melby also posted seven points to go along with six assists, four rebounds and three steals.

As a team, Huntington drained a season-best 13 threes with seven Foresters hitting at least one. The day also saw Maggard’s crew commit a season-low ten turnovers while forcing USF into 19 blunders.

The feel of the contest was a two-possession ball game more often than not with an eight-point separation halfway through the third the largest disparity of the day. The lead favored USF, 42-34, but a quick timeout served the hosts well as they rattled off ten straight points which included back-to-back trifectas by Kelham and Peyton Hartsough to swing the pendulum HU’s way.

By quarter’s end, Saint Francis had rebuilt a lead of 50-45. The two previous quarters also belonged to the visitors as HU trailed 18-17 after the first break and 32-30 at halftime.

Ally Madden unleashed for 23 points off the bench to pace the Cougars. Emily Parrett also came off the bench to toss in 16 while Chloe McKnight finished with ten. Isabella Gizzi added eight points and nabbed a game-best ten rebounds.

The win is Huntington’s second straight league victory and first win over USF in seven outings. The Foresters take a break from CL action to host Calumet on Tuesday at 5:00 p.m.