WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

The HU women’s basketball team came up short, 66-58, Wednesday night against #RV IU Northwest at the Savannah Center Gymnasium.

The game got away from Maggard and crew midway through the fourth quarter. It was a three-minute spurt that did the guests in. A two-point ballgame of 47-45 at the seven-minute mark, the RedHawks pieced together a 7-0 run to extend their lead to nine at 54-45 with four minutes to go that ultimately doomed HU.

With :43 ticks remaining, the never-say-die Foresters pulled within four, 60-56, thanks to back-to-back threes by Bailey Kelham but IU Northwest’s response was swift. Mikala Best, who went off for nine fourth-quarter points, delivered the final blow by draining a triple to give the hosts a lead they could ride out.

Prior to the RedHawks late-game run, the two squads traded short bursts to ping pong the lead back and forth with neither team able to extend their advantage to more than five. The midway point saw both teams sitting on 28.

Huntington didn’t get many friendly rolls to finish 22-for-69 from the field for 31.9 percent while their hosts finished 21-for-52 for 40.4 percent. The Foresters came into the night averaging 14 turnovers but on this given night, they coughed up the ball an uncharacteristic 22 times which cost them ten points.

Kelham finished with 20 points to lead all scorers in addition to snagging six boards and handing out four dimes. The 5-8 guard scored all but four of her points in the final 20 minutes. Gabi Melby added 11 points and grabbed ten rebounds for the double double. Laura Valiente-Marin chipped in nine points off the bench.

Olivia Raby tracked down four of her team’s 18 offensive boards on the way to corralling a game-best 12 rebounds. The 6-1 center also posted six points, four assists and two blocks.

The RedHawks were led by Samantha Martin’s 17 points. Also scoring in double-figures for the hosts included Best (16), Katelyn Halfacre (13) and Alyna Santiago (10).

HU (2-3) now turns their attention to league play. Opening day is Saturday at IWU with tip-off slated for 1:00 p.m.