WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

The #22 HU women’s basketball team made the short trip up U.S. 24 to face #13 Saint Francis (12-3, 3-1) in an NAIA Top 25 showdown that eventually favored the hosts 68-53. It’s a long-time neighborly rivalry between these two Crossroads League foes and proved a battle through the first three quarters of the contest until things went awry for Culler and crew in the final ten minutes.

Apart from the end of the first quarter when Lauren McBryar banked in a three at the buzzer to give the Cougars an 18-10 lead, only two possessions separated the two squads through the opening 30 minutes with the lead toggling back and forth ten times.

McBryar was back at it at the end of the third to bank in another buzzer-beater, this time inside the arc, to send her team into the fourth up 53-49. That’s when things unraveled for the Foresters as they couldn’t buy a bucket. HUwent the first nine minutes of the quarter without putting any points on the board. Dazia Drake finally scored on a a jumper in the lane with :39 ticks remaining after which Alaina Rongos canned a pair of freebies.

It was obviously too little too late. USF had taken a double-digit lead four minutes into the fourth to keep a healthy distance from their visitors that they didn’t relinquish. While 15 points separated the two teams by game’s end, both teams finished with 22 field goals on the day. The difference was that half of USF’s field goals were from deep while HU knocked down seven long balls.

The other glaring difference came by way of the charity stripe where the hosts went 13-for-19 while HU finished 2-for-2. Turnovers also played a role in the disparity with HU committing 22 miscues to USF’s 11.

Sam Hammel paced Huntington with 15 points by going 7-for-10 from the floor. She also handed out a team-best five assists. Sarah Fryman added 13 points and pulled down a game-best seven rebounds.

McBryar tossed in 22 points for the hosts. Kara Gerke collected 14 points while Lindley Kistler finished with nine. The trio combined to go 10-for-12 from long range to spearhead the Cougars’ shooting clinic from downtown. Savannah Buck piled up ten assists in the winning effort.

The Foresters (13-3, 2-2) will look to regroup by Wednesday when they host #RV Mount Vernon at 7:00 p.m.