WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

While an upset on paper, the 12th-seeded HU women’s basketball team (18-12) played nothing like the underdog in Friday’s 64-56 win over 5th-seeded LSU Shreveport (27-4) in opening round action of the NAIA National Tournament at Hasting’s Lynn Farrell Arena.

The Foresters led from start to finish, giving up a mere five points in the opening ten minutes to build a lead that stood the test of time. It was a 15-5 difference after the first quarter behind Bailey Kelham’s trio of bombs. By halftime, HU had extended it to 14 at 31-19 with Gabi Melby taking a turn at carrying the team with nine second quarter points.

The Pilots, the Red River Athletic Conference tournament champions, pieced together several runs in the second half but each time someone from Maggard’s crew stepped up to answer their rally. With just over three minutes left in the third, LSUS had trimmed it to five at 36-31 but Kyndell Jochim picked a perfect time to knock down her first three of the game to give HU a little breathing room. Kelham and Annaka Nelson each nailed a trey in the final two minutes of the quarter to send their team into the fourth with a ten-point cushion of 46-36.

The real test for the Foresters came late in the contest when just two points separated the two squads with 3:32 remaining. This time it was Liv Raby to the rescue. The 6-1 center calmly drained a pair of freebies and followed that up with an old-fashioned three-point play to extend Huntington’s lead to seven at 59-52 with two minutes to go.

Nelson then put the finishing touches on the contest by going 4-for-4 in the last minute of play to seal the victory.

Kelham and Melby led HU with 15 points apiece. Kelham also posted five boards, two assists, two steals and a block while Melby handed out seven assists and corralled four rebounds. Raby finished with 13 points and 16 rebounds for the double double while also swiping three steals and blocking two shots.

Jochim and Nelson each tossed in nine points and grabbed eight boards. Additionally, Nelson handed out two dimes and swatted three shots. As a team, Huntington racked up eight rejections and eight steals.

The Pilots, ranked 25th in the last NAIA poll, were paced by Paula Gonzalez Herrero and Alexis Brown who scored 14 and 12 points respectively.

With this win, the Foresters advance to the round of 32. They will face 4th-seeded Hastings tomorrow at 6:00 p.m. EST with the winner advancing to the final site for the 16-team single-elimination tournament that runs from March 20-25. The loss brings a close to LSUS’s season and snaps the 22-game win streak they brought into the evening.