WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

In addition to enjoying a 72-62 win over Taylor Wednesday evening on their home court, the Huntington women’s basketball team also took the opportunity to celebrate their floor general Gabi Melby. With just under two minutes to go, the 5-7 point guard scored in transition to become the 27th member of HU’s 1,000-point club.

Coming into the contest, Melby needed just 14 points to reach the 1K-plateau. After scoring six quick points to start the game, she quietly finished the half with only those six points. With just over three minutes remaining, she put the finishing touches on a hard-fought battle with the Trojans by going off for seven points to not only score her 1,000th career point in Forester green, but ensure her team the victory.

Melby was Huntington’s offensive instigator throughout the evening. In addition to scoring 15 points, she also dished out ten assists for a double double. She was part of a balanced attack that saw Liv Raby also post a double double of 20 points and 11 boards. It’s the 6-1 post’s third double double of the season and the third straight game she’s scored at least 20 points.

Sharpshooters Bailey Kelham and Kyndell Jochim each dropped in 11 points which included combining for six treys. Kelham also tracked down seven rebounds. Huntington’s fifth starter Annaka Nelson added nine points while Addie Shank chipped in six points and corralled nine rebounds off the bench.

The Trojans, who have yet to win a conference game, made it clear they were not going down without a fight. In the first half, the guests established a seven-point lead of 23-16 with six minutes left in the second quarter but slowly watched it slip away thanks to a 19-7 Forester run to close out the frame. It made for a 35-30 difference by the midway point.

Melby knocked down two freebies to start the third to up the lead to seven but Huntington quickly realized they couldn’t get too comfortable. Three minutes later, a Quinn Kelly triple flipped the advantage back to Taylor at 41-40. The rest of the third played out similarly with HU eventually taking a 48-45 lead into the fourth where things finally went their way.

Hanging onto a 51-50 advantage, Raby along with some help from Shank put distance between the two squads by accounting for 11 of the game’s next 13 points. In addition to scoring twice down low, Raby went a perfect 4-for-4 from the line while Shank also scored in the paint and made good on one of her two free throws to turn a one-point contest into a ten point disparity of 62-52 with 4:34 remaining.

Melby, who assisted all three of those buckets, then assumed scoring duties by accounting for seven of her team’s final 11 points to ensure Huntington’s sixth double-digit win of the year.

Ava Henson topped all scorers with 22 points as Taylor’s only player to reach double figures.

With this win, HU improves to 10-8 which includes a 3-5 league record. Huntington wraps up the first round of CL action Saturday with a trip to Goshen where they will tip-off with the Maple Leafs at 1:00 p.m.