WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

After playing within two points of #2 Indiana Wesleyan in first round action of CL play at Platt Arena in the first matchup, the HU women’s basketball team didn’t fare so well Saturday afternoon at Luckey Arena having suffered a 79-60 loss to the Wildcats.

There’s a reason IWU is one of the best in the nation and today was testimony of that as they established their dominance early on and never let Maggard and crew enjoy a lead. By the end of the first quarter, the Wildcats had jetted out to a 27-15 advantage and by halftime the gap had extended to 21 at 47-26.

Huntington came out of the locker room eager to send a message they don’t give up. They spent the final 20 minutes outscoring their hosts by two and while they cut into the lead, 15 points was as close as they would get in the second period.

There were several keys to Wesleyan’s success. In addition to getting in the paint to the tune of 50 points to Huntington’s 24, they were in lockdown mode defensively. IWU converted 22 HU blunders into 33 points while committing just nine TOs that resulted in five Huntington points. Second chance points also played to their favor 12-2.

With today’s victory, the Wildcats remain perfect on the season at 20-0.

Kyndra Sheets sparked the Foresters off the bench by scoring a career-high 13 points, all of which came in the second half and included draining three triples. Liv Raby also dropped in 13 points to go along with eight boards. Likewise, Addie Shank pulled down eight rebounds to share game-high honors with Raby and Wesleyan’s Taylor Folkema. Bailey Kelham netted ten points.

Folkema had a banner day for IWU by erupting for a career-best 32 points. Izzy Reed added 12 points as the only other Wildcat to score in double figures.

Next Up for Huntington is a trip to Mishawaka on Wednesday to take on Bethel at 5:30 p.m.