WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Fresh off one of the biggest wins of the season, the (RV) Huntington women’s basketball team couldn’t carry that momentum into the start of second-round Crossroads League play, falling 81–52 to No. 21 Spring Arbor Saturday afternoon at Platt Arena.

The loss comes a week after an emotional 11-point upset of No. 4 Marian and marks Huntington’s second defeat to the Cougars this season, with the first coming back in November. Entering the day, HU sat fourth in the CL standings while Spring Arbor was tied for second with Marian.

Defense dictated the afternoon, and it was Spring Arbor’s relentless, endline-to-endline pressure, particularly on Huntington’s backcourt, that proved decisive. Offense was hard to come by for the Foresters as the Cougars steadily wore down the hosts and turned turnovers into points.

Huntington briefly found its rhythm early. After a slow start for both teams, Kyndell Jochim buried a three at the 2:27 mark of the first quarter to give HU a 13–8 edge. She connected again from deep early in the second quarter, but those buckets were separated by more than five minutes of limited offensive production, with Liv Raby’s free throw accounting for HU’s lone point during that stretch.

Izzy Shepherd provided a spark off the bench with a three on Huntington’s next possession to push the lead to 20–14, but Spring Arbor responded immediately. The Cougars closed the half on a 14–6 run to take a 28–26 advantage into the break.

Any hopes of a second-half reset were short-lived. Spring Arbor knocked down a pair of threes in the opening 90 seconds of the third quarter, opening the floodgates. By the end of the period, the Cougars’ lead had swelled to 57–42. The fourth quarter proved to be HU’s toughest, as the Foresters were limited to just ten points, allowing Spring Arbor to stretch the margin even further. It marked just the second time this season Huntington has been held under 55 points.

Turnovers told the story. Huntington committed 23 miscues, which Spring Arbor converted into 29 points. The Cougars finished with just ten turnovers, doubled HU in made field goals (30–15), and shot over 50 percent from the floor compared to Huntington’s 30.6 percent.

Annaka Nelson led the Foresters with 11 points, five of which came from the charity stripe. Liv Raby chipped in nine points, seven rebounds, two steals and a block, while Addie Shank pulled down five boards and scored eight. Jochim and Kyndra Sheets added six points apiece, and Teegan Acres grabbed seven rebounds.

Spring Arbor was paced by a balanced scoring attack. Megan Zeitz led all scorers with 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting to go along with five rebounds and three assists. Alayna Kulesza added 13 points and three steals, while Haven Chapman finished with 11. Rielyn Goodwin and Ashley Weller chipped in nine points each as the Cougars shot 50.8 percent from the field and 43.8 percent from three.

With the loss, Huntington slips to 14–6 overall, 6–4 in Crossroads League play. The Foresters will look to regroup quickly as they head to Mount Vernon on Wednesday for a 5:00 p.m. tip-off with the Cougars.