|
01.16.08
-
The Huntington
University Foresters (11-7, 3-3) held NAIA Division II 8th-ranked
Indiana Wesleyan University (18-2, 4-2) to just nine first half
points on 15% shooting and then held off a second half charge by the
Wildcats to pull off the 63-55 upset. After winning a NAIA record
56 consecutive games, Indiana Wesleyan fell for the second time in
as many games after having their streak end on Saturday with a 52-49
loss to Bethel College.
Huntington’s defense was the story of the first half, forcing the
Wildcats to put up off-balance shots with the shot clock winding
down. The Foresters jumped out to an early 6-0 lead and never
trailed in the game. Huntington held the Wildcats to just three
points over the first 13 minutes of the half and extended its
advantage to as many as 21 at 28-7 with two minutes to play. A
Brook Amstutz layup at the 1:29 mark cut it to 19 at the break.
Indiana Wesleyan returned to the court resolved to make a game of
it. The Wildcats began to slowly chip away at the Foresters’ lead.
They were able to make significant headway when all three of
Huntington’s post players picked up their fourth fouls within a
minute of each other with 10:26 still remaining in the contest.
Indiana Wesleyan finally made it back within single digits at 45-36
on a Kayla Thompson trey from the corner with 6:51 left in the game,
but Jenna Donaldson immediately pushed it back to 12 with an
traditional three-point play.
The Wildcats continued to pound the ball inside trying to draw a
fifth foul on the Huntington posts and pulled within six on another
Lisa Thompson layup in the paint. This time Erica Yost had the
answer with a three in the corner that found nothing but net and
gave the Foresters a 53-44 lead with 1:44 to play. Huntington then
began a parade to the foul line and knocked down all 10 charity
tosses, including 6-6 from Lauren Davenport, to earn the upset.
Indiana Wesleyan’s Lisa Thompson topped all scorers in the game with
23 points and she added a game-high 11 rebounds. Kayla Thompson
joined her in double figures with 12 points. Brittany Bateman and
Davenport each finished with 14 points to lead the Foresters and
Yost chipped in 13.
Huntington was 20-46 from the field for the game for 44% while the
Wildcats went 20-56 for 36%. The Foresters out-scored Indiana
Wesleyan 19-13 at the line.
Box Score
|
