WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

On opening night of league play, the #RV Huntington women’s basketball team was a handful for #4 Marian University (7-1, 1-0) Tuesday night at Platt Arena in a contest that came down to defensive stops with the Knights eventually getting the best of HU 73-64.

The upset-minded Foresters had their visitors on the ropes in the second half. Culler’s crew scored 25 points in the third quarter which included a 13-2 run in the final five minutes capped off by Sara Doi rattling in a buzzer-beating three for the game’s first double-digit spread of the night at 54-43.

A Casey Morton dump down to Sarah Fryman to open the fourth gave HU their largest lead of the night at 56-43. Although momentum heavily favored Huntington, the Knights soon made it clear why they’re one of the best teams in the nation. MU came out of a timeout with an all-hands-on-deck full-court press that sent Culler’s crew into a tailspin.

Marian could do no wrong while HU could no right and by the midway point of the quarter, the score was deadlocked at 58-58. Rachel Titzer buried a three with just over three minutes to go for Marian’s first lead since the middle of the third. Maddie Richer stopped the bleeding by countering with her fourth triple of the night to force the game’s 11th tie.

Unfortunately, at the other end the Knights fired right back by tracking down their second offensive rebound of the quarter to the tune of yet another trey to reclaim the lead with 2:21 remaining. MU stretched the lead to five on two freebies before Richer scored again from downtown to pull her team within two, 66-64, with just over a minute to go.

The Foresters were one stop away from a chance to knot things up but Marian had other plans. Karen Jones scored on a traditional three-point play and so began the march to the free throw line where Marian went 4-for-4 to make for the final nine-point discrepancy.

Behind Richer’s career-best five long balls, twelve of HU’s 22 field goals came from beyond the arc. Richer finished the night with a season-high 19 points to go along with three assists.

Sarah Fryman topped all scorers with 20 points which included scoring two points before the game even started. The 5-9 forward, currently ranked 7th nationally in free throw percentage (.920), drained a pair of free throws before tip-off after Marian was assessed a technical foul for illegal uniforms. She also claimed rebounding honors for her team with five and swiped a game-leading three steals.

Erica Zook and Morton came off the bench to toss in ten and eight points respectively. Brooke Saylor handed out a career-best and game-high seven dimes.

Macy Willoughby paced the Knights with 18 points. Jones added 14 points, Macie Lively tallied 13 and Abby Downard collected ten.

Huntington heads into Thanksgiving break 7-2 overall, 0-1 in league play. Culler’s crew is back in action on Wednesday with a road trip to #14 Saint Francis.