WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

The Forester women’s basketball team dominated play early on in Wednesday’s game against Bethel (11-10, 4-7) at Gates Gymnasium but sputtered on either side of halftime to suffer a 60-56 loss to the Pilots. The loss drops Maggard and crew to 11-10 on the year which includes a 4-7 CL record.

Four different Foresters put points on the board in the first seven minutes of the contest to skirt in front 17-7. It felt like things were trending in the right direction but unfortunately it was the beginning of the end for the guests.

HU wouldn’t score again in the quarter. It was the start of a stagnant offense that only put up 18 points over the next two quarters. Huntington’s loss was the Pilots’ gain as the hosts cut their deficit to six at 27-21 by halftime and then poured it on in the third to turn the tides.

Liv Raby was the only Forester to score in the third. She finished with eight in the quarter while BU went off for 23 points to take a 44-35 lead into the last ten minutes. The never-say-die Foresters chipped away at the difference to trim it to two points, 48-46, on a pair of freebies by Gabi Melby with just under five minutes remaining.

Redemption never came for HU as two points was as close as they would get. The Pilots had an answer, mainly at the free throw line, to combat Huntington’s stab at a come-from-behind win. The Foresters were whistled for 31 fouls, sending their hosts to the line 36 times.

Turnovers and poor shooting from deep also haunted Maggard’s club. HU coughed up the ball 23 times, 11 over their season average, and managed just three from long range at a clip of 16.7 percent. HU came into the afternoon averaging 9.6 three-pointers per game at a rate of 36.0 percent.

Raby led all scorers with 22 points to go along with five boards. Melby tossed in 12 points and finished with two steals. Bailey Kelham posted a game-best six rebounds.

The Pilots were led by Mariah Claywell’s 18 points. Olivia Nickerson was the difference maker down the stretch. After banking in a three with just under three minutes to go, she also hit six free throws in the final minute to solidify the win. She finished with 16 points which included a perfect 8-for-8 performance from the charity stripe.

The Foresters return to Platt Arena on Saturday to host #14 Saint Francis at 1:00 p.m.