WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

The 5th-seeded Huntington women’s basketball team was sent home with a 93-85 loss to 4th-seeded Spring Arbor Wednesday night at the American 1 Credit Union Arena in quarterfinal action of the Crossroads League Tournament.

With this win, the Cougars (19-10) advance to the semifinals of the tourney where they will face top-seeded Indiana Wesleyan on Saturday afternoon inside Luckey Arena.

With both teams on the bubble for making the NAIA National Tournament, it was a high stakes game beyond just staying alive in the CL tourney. The Foresters, after making up an early 8-2 deficit in the first quarter, hung onto a lead throughout most of the half despite scoring just two points in the final six minutes of the second quarter.

Clinging to a 36-31 advantage, the visitors went cold, missing seven shots and two freebies while turning the ball over four times much to the delight of Spring Arbor. It was a slow grind for the hosts who pieced together a 10-2 run which included dropping in a three with :30 seconds left in the half to send them into the locker room up 41-38.

Third quarters have not been kind to Maggard and crew and it again proved true on this given night. SAU spent the first six minutes of the second half building a 13-point lead of 63-50. Thankfully, it can always be said that this Forester squad has no quit in them. Behind Bailey Kelham’s third triple of the evening and six points down low between Addie Shank and Liv Raby, HU rallied back to pull within five at 67-62 by the end of the quarter.

Spring Arbor extended the lead back to double figures to start the fourth but once again HU fought back and played within two possessions until the very end. The difference was only four points, 87-83 with :40 seconds to go but unfortunately time was the enemy at that point as Huntington was forced to foul. SAU went 6-for-6 down the stretch to fend out their guests.

Rebounding got the best of HU. They gave up 16 offensive boards to SAU who racked up 18 points on their putbacks. Fouls were also an issue for the visitors as they had two starters disqualified in addition to being outshot at the charity stripe 32-21.

Gabi Melby topped the Foresters in scoring and rebounding with 23 points and five boards. She entered the contest needing just two assists to set a new program record for assists in a season. The crafty point guard handed out a team-best eight dimes bringing her season total to 185. The old record was 178 set by Jessica Ramey nearly two decades ago.

Kelham poured in 20 points to go along with four rebounds and two steals. Shank came off the bench to toss in 12 points while Annaka Nelson and Kyndell Jochim finished with ten apiece.

Alana Nelson unleashed for 39 points which included an unstoppable third quarter that saw her drop 20. She also corralled 21 boards for a monster double double. Megan Zeitz added 21 points while Sydney Aunins netted 16 for the Cougars.

With this loss, the Foresters drop to 17-12 on the year and now await their fate to see if they are one of the 64 teams to make the national tournament. The NAIA selection show is set for next Thursday.