WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

The Forester women’s basketball team played inspired basketball Saturday afternoon at their annual Pink Out game against Bethel. From opening tip, HU was on a mission as evidenced by their 75-55 win over Bethel. The W wraps up the regular season sweep over the Pilots.

Huntington’s defense set the tone early by giving up just two buckets through the first seven minutes allowing the hosts to jet in front 18-5. Five different Foresters put points on the board in the first ten minutes for a 22-11 lead at the first break. It was a double-digit advantage that stuck the remainder of the afternoon.

At both ends of the floor, Alli Vaughn proved HU’s playmaker in the first half by nabbing three steals and pouring in 11 points. Celeste Ryman was also a key cog offensively with eight points and three assists while Maddy Robrock sparked the Foresters off the bench by going 4-for-5 from the floor to toss in eight points as well. The trio paced Huntington to a 39-26 lead after two quarters of play.

While HU extended the lead to as many as 20 at 52-32 with 2:33 left in the third, Bethel scored six straight points to close out the quarter and keep the Foresters from getting too comfortable. The fourth saw the Pilots trim their deficit to 11 midway through the quarter but Huntington’s stingy defense had had enough.

Maggard and crew ended much like they started by giving up just five points the rest of the way while nearly tripling up their guests in scoring to make for the 20-point victory by game’s end. It’s the second 20+ win of the season for HU.

The Foresters posted some impressive numbers as a team. HU shot 47.5 percent (29-for-61) from the field but more impressive was how they shared the ball as 22 of their 29 field goals were assisted. Defensively, the hosts snatched a season-best 20 steals.

Vaughn finished with a game-best 17 points to go along with a career-leading six steals and three assists. Robrock added a season-best 13 points. Konnor Gambrell pitched in 11 points while Ryman added ten and handed out a career-high seven assists. Laura Valiente-Marin tracked down six boards to enjoy team-high rebounding honors.

Bethel was paced by Maiah Shelton’s 13 points and game-best seven rebounds. Abby Williams and Mariah Claywell tossed in 11 and ten points respectively.

With five regular season games remaining, HU (9-14) is sitting eighth in the CL standings with a 4-9 record. Next up is a clash with Taylor on Wednesday at Platt Arena.