WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

The #RV Forester women’s basketball team picked up a statement win inside Platt Arena Wednesday night, knocking off 17th-ranked Indiana Tech 69-61 in a hard-fought nonconference matchup. The victory marks a big bounce-back for Huntington after back-to-back setbacks last week to No. 25 Cumberlands and No. 24 Lindsey Wilson.

With Coach Darby Maggard at the helm, this neighborly rivalry now sits at 2-2, both teams having earned a win on each other’s home floor. Tonight echoed their meeting back in 2022, when the Foresters stunned then-No. 24 Tech on a Maggard-era-opening buzzer-beater in Fort Wayne.

This time, it was another complete team performance that carried the day. Kyndra Sheets set the tone as the floor general, directing the offense with patience and poise. The junior guard finished with 12 points, six rebounds, three assists and a steal while controlling the game’s rhythm on both ends.

Liv Raby helped HU establish momentum early by scoring on the Foresters’ first two possessions. She went on to post a team-high 15 points to go along with 10 boards for her third double-double of the young season.

Addie Shank provided a major spark off the bench, pouring in 15 points and grabbing eight rebounds. One of her biggest moments came late in the third quarter when she buried a clutch triple on either side of a pair of freebies by Lauryn Merritt to turn a 44-44 tie into a five-point HU lead heading into the fourth. She came through again with just over three minutes remaining, sinking back-to-back buckets to pad her team’s lead from one to five points at 63-58.

From there, Huntington slammed the door defensively. Indiana Tech managed just one point the rest of the way as Sheets and Raby combined to go 6-for-6 from the line down the stretch to seal it.

Kyndell Jochim added 11 points on an efficient 5-for-7 shooting night, Annaka Nelson chipped in eight, and Merritt provided six key points off the bench.

Indiana Tech was led by Ryan Moorer’s 22 points, while Taylor Covington added 13 and Gabby Richie finished with 11.

The lead never stretched beyond two possessions until the final score, and the game featured nine ties and eight lead changes before HU seized control late in the third quarter. With the win, the Foresters improve to 3-2. Indiana Tech drops to 1-1. HU is back on the road Saturday to take on Rochester Christian.