WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

It was sweet revenge for the Forester women’s basketball team. After suffering a lopsided 92-67 loss on the road to #RV Taylor just three days prior, HU had an impressive bounce back win, 76-66, over the Trojans Saturday afternoon in the friendly confines of Platt Arena.

It was a 35-point swing between the two contests and snapped an eight-game win streak, dating back to February of 2017, that TU held over Culler and crew. The victory also proves the Foresters’ fourth double-digit W of the season.

Most striking about the afternoon was Huntington’s smothering defense that limited their guests to 66 points, 16 below their season average. Taylor boasts the third highest overall offense in the NAIA with only one other team this year holding them to fewer points than HU. The Trojans rank third nationally in threes per game (13.4) but on this given day, HU beat them at their own game by knocking down nine long balls to their seven.

Culler’s squad also forced 16 turnovers to the tune of ten points while committing just seven blunders themselves.

At the other end of the floor, HU faced full-court pressure most of the day and methodically broke down several different defensive looks to enjoy the upper hand most of the day. After swapping the lead multiple times throughout the first seven minutes of play, Alaina Rongos’ long two at the top of the key at the 3:16 mark gave her team a lasting lead.

It was just the start for the hot-handed Rongos who drilled back-to-back triples and then swished another long two, this time from the right wing, to ignite an 18-3 run. Celeste Ryman capped things off with an old-fashioned three and then a shot from the cheap seats for a 24-10 advantage after the first stanza.

The lead ballooned to as many as 19 in the second quarter before the Foresters carried a 38-25 lead into recess. Not surprisingly, Taylor came out of the locker room on a mission to make up some ground and they did just that to trim it to four over the course of the third quarter for a 52-48 difference heading into the final ten minutes.

TU continued their mission into the fourth to finally whittle it down to a single possession at 54-51 with just under nine minutes remaining. However, Huntington had had enough. After Erica Zook snuck into the lane for a layup and Rongos drilled a shot from the elbow, the hosts went to work from downtown. Ryman went deep twice and Rongos once for a 13-4 response that made the three-point difference several minutes prior seem a distant memory.

Up 67-55 with just over five minutes remaining, the Foresters warded off the Trojans the rest of the way to improve to 7-6 overall, 4-5 in CL action. With this loss, Taylor drops to 15-4 which includes an 8-3 CL record.

Rongos finished with a game-high 19 points to go along with five rebounds. Ryman had the best game of her Forester career by posting 15 points, four rebounds, four assists and a steal. Sam Vaughn was up to her usual tricks by collecting 14 points, eight assists, seven rebounds and two steals.

Maddy Robrock added 12 points, five rebounds, three assists and two blocks while Zook chipped in nine points and two assists off the bench. Twenty-five of HU’s 31 field goals were assisted to make for a picture perfect team win.

Lauren James missed just two shots on her way to pacing Taylor with 18 points. Kayla Kirtley and Taylor Westgate tossed in 16 points apiece while Madisyn Fischer registered 12. Westgate pulled down ten boards to take home top rebounding honors for the game.

Next up for the Foresters is a trip to Bethel on Wednesday. Tip-off is slated for 7:00 p.m.