WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

The Forester women’s basketball team went toe-to-toe with #2 Indiana Wesleyan (18-2, 9-1) Saturday afternoon before the Wildcats snuck out of Platt Arena with a 77-70 win.

IWU’s win didn’t come without a fight by Maggard and crew. It was a tale of two halves with the Foresters playing some of their best ball of the year in the opening 20 minutes to race out to a 45-28 halftime lead.

In addition to locking down defensively, giving up a measly 28 points, HU made good on over half their field goals which included knocking down eight threes while handling the visitors’ full court pressure with poise. Bailey Kelham was the ringleader offensively, unleashing for 22 of her 30 points in the first half.

The Wildcats made it clear why they’re one of the nation’s best. They came out of the locker room a different team. Their swarming defense got the best of the hosts as they forced 15 second half turnovers which nearly brought HU’s scoring to a standstill.

After getting eight points back in the third quarter, the Wildcats doubled up HU in the final ten minutes, 32-16, to complete their epic comeback. Their first lead since the opening 30 seconds came at the midway point of the fourth when Lilli Frasure, the league’s second leading scorer, capitalized on a traditional three-point play to give her team a 68-65 lead.

A battle ensued after that. While Huntington never regained the lead, they were right there before IWU finally got a little wiggle room at the end only because the Foresters were forced to foul.

In addition to pouring in 30 points, Kelham also swiped five steals and posted four rebounds and two assists. Huntington’s playmaker Gabi Melby handled IWU’s pressure endline-to-endline to finish with 12 points, six assists and four rebounds. Emily Seboe was good for 11 points, nine of which came from deep, and a team-best six rebounds while Annaka Nelson chipped in ten points.

Frasure posted 26 points for the Wildcats. Klair Merrell and Jordan Reid added 12 and 11 points respectively while Taylor Folkema ripped down a game-high 11 rebounds.

When all was said and done, the key to IWU’s comeback was getting after it defensively coupled with their dominance on the boards. They forced 19 turnovers compliments of their full court press and also crashed the offensive glass to nab 21 of their misses, one more than HU’s defensive rebounds.

The Foresters (10-10, 4-6) are back in Platt Arena for their annual Pink Out on Wednesday against Bethel at 5:30 p.m.