WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Opening day saw the 12th-ranked Warriors of Indiana Tech (1-0) successfully defend their home turf by outlasting the visiting Forester women’s basketball team 76-60 Thursday evening. While 16 points separated the two teams by the final buzzer, it wasn’t an accurate indication of the battle that took place in the Schaefer Center.

The early lead favored Tech 9-2, but senior Gabi Melby scored back-to-back layups in transition to pull HU within a single possession after five minutes of play. The rest of the half saw no more than seven points separate the two squads with the Warriors taking a 33-28 advantage into the break. Both teams knocked down 11 field goals with the difference coming at the charity stripe where Tech went 8-for-12 while Huntington made good on three of their five attempts.

HU’s only lead came at the 7:05 mark of the third quarter after a floater in the lane by Annaka Nelson gave her team a 36-35 advantage. What should have fueled the guests turned sideways with Tech piecing together a 15-4 run over the next three-and-a-half minutes that proved the game’s first double digit disparity of 50-40.

While there was no quit in Maggard’s crew, they were never able to recover from their deficit. The Warriors’ defensive pressure coupled with an offense that finally started clicking spelled trouble for Huntington the rest of the night. The final ten minutes proved the hosts’ most productive quarter as evidenced by outscoring HU 23-14 to make for the lopsided finish.

After relying on a balanced attack in the first half with five different Foresters posting at least four points, Coach Maggard called on Liv Raby to take charge of the paint after intermission. The 6-1 center scored 16 of her 22 points in the final 20 minutes. She also corralled seven rebounds, four on the offensive glass, dished out three assists and took two charges over the course of the night.

Nelson finished with 12 points and a game-tying eight boards while Melby tossed in 11 to go along with four assists and four steals.

Genevieve Decker poured in a game-best 25 points for Tech. Taylor Covington added 18 points as the only other double-digit scorer for the hosts. Jaidyn Gulley came off the bench to snag eight boards to share game-high rebounding honors with Nelson.

The Foresters (0-1) are back in action next Thursday when they host Rochester Christian at 7:00 p.m.