WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

The 12th-ranked Wildcats of Indiana Wesleyan lived up to their ranking Wednesday night by dismantling the Huntington women’s basketball team 89-49 at Lucky Arena.

IWU’s offense was on display to begin the game. They could do no wrong as evidenced by racing out to a 29-8 lead after one quarter of play. Despite the bleak start, HU showed some grit by chipping away at the deficit over the next ten minutes to eventually shrink the gap to 39-26 by intermission.

A chance to regroup proved even more beneficial for Culler and crew. The Foresters came out of the locker room firing on all cylinders. Dazia Drake fueled the frenzy with a step-back jumper on the opening possession of the half after which Konnor Gambrell rattled off HU’s next six points.

Celest Ryman then jumped in on the action with a pair of freebies and a long three from the top of the key to cap off a 13-3 run that shredded IWU’s lead to just three at 42-39 with six minutes left in the third. It was an impressive comeback but unfortunately wasn’t sustainable. Huntington ran out of steam to which the Wildcats took full advantage with a 17-0 run to buffer their lead to 59-39 by quarter’s end.

The gamed ended much like it started with IWU lighting it up offensively. The Wildcats went off for 11 field goals in the last ten minutes on the way scoring 30 fourth-quarter points to make for the lopsided affair.

Ryman finished with 13 points. Alli Vaughn tossed in 12 while Gambrell posted a double double of 11 points and 11 rebounds to go along with two assists and two steals.

Lilli Frasure scored 19 points and swiped five steals to pace the Wildcats. Madison Davis and Kelli Damman each netted 13 points.

It doesn’t get any easier for the Foresters (3-20, 1-11) as next up is a home game against #3 Marian on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.