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Huntington College Gordon 2nd Team All-MCC The
Mid-Central Conference (MCC) announced its awards for the 2002-03 season
and Huntington College senior guard, Sarah Gordon, earned second team
All-Conference honors.
Indiana Wesleyan University senior, Stephanie Jackson, was named
MCC Player of the Year.
Joining Jackson on the first team are Shanie Smith (Marian
College), Megan Dean (Marian College), Julie Shirley (Indiana Wesleyan
University), and Kristi Koselke (Marian College).
Grace College rookie, Amber Riffell received the Freshman of the Year
award and Indiana Wesleyan's Steve
Brooks was named Coach of the Year. Gordon’s award is the
culmination of a stellar season that saw her lead the conference is
scoring from start to finish.
Her final 19.7 average was tenth best in the nation in NAIA
Division II. Pilots End Season For
Foresters In the opening round of the MCC Tournament, the #3-seeded Bethel College Pilots brought the Forester's season to an end defeating HC 87-76. The Foresters struggled from the field early, which led to a 18-point deficit early in the second half, but HC wouldn't go away. The Foresters fought their way back to within five at 79-74 with just over three minutes to play, but couldn't come up with the defensive stops they needed down the stretch. HC's Lane Allen led all scorers in the game with a career best 24 points. Senior Sarah Gordon wrapped up a stellar career with 20 points, while classmate, Michelle Hart, added 10 off the bench. Brandy Swihart led four Pilots in double figures with 22. Bethel moves on in the tournament and will travel to #2 Marian College. The other second round game has #1 Indiana Wesleyan hosting #5 St. Francis. The women conclude their season with a 13-16 record. Box Score Foresters Fall to IWU The Foresters got off to a strong start against the 11th-ranked Wildcats of Indiana Wesleyan, building as much as a nine-point lead midway through the first half, but eventually succumbed to the Wildcat's defensive pressure and fell 63-54. HC's Lane Allen and Bethany Strom were the only two Foresters to reach double figures in the game, scoring 14 and 12 respectively. IWU's Julie Shirley led all scorers with 23. Stephanie Jackson added 13 points and 8 rebounds for the Wildcats. The loss drops the women to 13-15 overall and concludes their conference season with a 6-8 record, which ties them for fifth place in the standings. The Foresters enter the MCC tournament as the #6 seed and will travel to #3 Bethel on Tuesday for their first round matchup. Other first round games include #8 Grace at #1 Indiana Wesleyan, #7 Goshen at #2 Marian, and #5 St. Francis at #4 Taylor. Box Score Foresters Sweep
Taylor After a mediocre first half, which left them down 37-33 at the break, the Foresters (13-14) turned up the heat defensively, holding the Trojans of Taylor University to 31% shooting in the second half, and completed the two-game sweep with the 77-72 win. It is the first time since the 1993-94 season that HC has been able to accomplish this feat. Jessah Martin got the Forester offense rolling in the second half, scoring nine of HC's first 11 points to pull the score even at 44 with 15:27 on the clock. A jumper by Lane Allen put HC up 49-48 and ignited an 11-0 run, giving them a lead they would never lose. Martin finished the game with a team-high 21 points. Sarah Gordon (19), Lane Allen (11), and Jami Kelley (11) also scored in double figures for the Foresters. Taylor's Alicia Russell scored at game-high 29 to lead the Trojans. With one game remaining in conference play, the women are tied for fourth with Taylor at 6-7, but have the edge with the two wins over Taylor. A win on Saturday at Indiana Wesleyan would mean a home game in the first round of the conference tournament. Box Score Foresters Win in 2OT The Foresters needed two extra
periods to finally put away the Lancers of Grace College, getting the
95-90 win in double overtime. Grace's Kelly Springer hit a 3-pointer
with 3 seconds left to tie the score at 76 and send the game to its first
overtime. Both teams managed just seven points in the period forcing
a second overtime where HC's point guard, Jami Kelley, took charge.
Kelley scored eight of the Forester's 12 points on two driving layups and
four free throws, single-handedly outscoring the Lancers by one.
HC's Sarah Gordon led all scorers in the game with 28 points, and with the
first of her four 3-pointers in the game, broke her own school record for
most 3-point field goals made in a season. The old record was 81,
which she set in her sophomore season. She has made 85 to date this
year. Forester Lane Allen chipped in her eighth double-double of the
year, scoring a career-high 20 points and pulling down 11 rebounds.
Kelley finished with 13 for the game and Michelle Hart scored a
season-high 12 points off the bench. Grace's Angie Krach led five
Lancers in double figures with 20 points. With the win, the women
move to 12-14 on the season and 5-7 in the conference. Box
Score Pilots Down Foresters The Foresters were able to
hold their own for a half against the #20-ranked Bethel College Pilots,
but couldn't find an answer for the Pilot's long-range shooting in the
second half and fell 81-56. HC held Bethel's shooters to 20% (2-10)
from behind the arc in the first half, but the Pilots were able to knock
down 9 of their 15 treys in the second. Four Pilots scored in double
figures in the game with Brandy Swihart scoring a team-high 17.
Shallon Bowden and Chasity Zellers each added 15. HC's Sarah Gordon
was the lone Forester to reach double digits with her game-high 23
points. With the loss the women fall to 11-14 on the season and 4-7
in the MCC. Box
Score HC's Upset Bid Falls
Short Despite being behind most of
the game, the Marian College Knights were able to thwart the Forester's
upset bid and pulled off the 72-71 win.
HC had leads as large as nine and eight points and were up 69-63
with HC Tops Goshen Four Foresters scored in double figures to lift HC to the 82-72 win over Goshen College. Jessah Martin led the foursome with 24 points and dished out a career-high 9 assists as well. Lane Allen and Jami Kelley both chipped in 12 and Bethany Strom added 10 points and 8 rebounds. HC built a 12-point lead early in the second half and looked to have the Maple Leafs on the ropes, but Goshen came storming back to within one at 62-61 with six minutes remaining in the game. The Foresters answered with a 9-0 run over the next three minutes to went 9-10 from the line down the stretch to seal the victory. Goshen's Lyndsay Fisher led all scorers in the game with 28 and Erin McDugle added 22. The win gives HC the sweep over the Maple Leafs and moves them to 11-12 on the season and 4-5 in the MCC. Box Score St. Francis Routs Foresters The University of St. Francis Cougars ran out to a 14-4 lead in the opening minutes of the game and continued to pour it on, routing the Foresters 79-54. The Cougars out-hustled the Foresters, beating them up the floor on numerous occasions for easy scoring opportunities and coming up with loose balls time and again. Nickole Behnke and Cassie Kline provided the one-two punch for St. Francis, scoring 24 points and 18 points respectively. Stifled by a box and one for much of the game, HC's Sarah Gordon hit for just 13 points to lead the a struggling Forester offense. The loss drops the women to 10-12 on the season and 3-5 in the MCC. Box Score IWU Rallys Late To
Defeat Foresters Up 63-53 with five and a half minutes to play, the Foresters were out-scored 21-5 over the remainder of the game and fell 74-68 to the 18th-ranked Wildcats of Indiana Wesleyan. Early in the game, both team's defenses were in charge, but a late first half 11-0 run, gave HC a 34-26 lead at the half. The Foresters pushed the lead to as high as 14 and still had a 13-point margin with eight minutes to play. But turnovers and fouls called on HC changed the momentum in the Wildcats' favor and the Foresters couldn't stop the surge. IWU's Stephanie Jackson led all scorers in the game with 27, including 13 of the Wildcat's last 21. Sarah Gordon (20) and Jessah Martin (18) both scored in double digits for HC. The loss drops the women to 10-11 on the season and 3-4 in the MCC. Box Score Early Lead Holds For Foresters The Foresters raced out to a 26-4 lead over the Taylor University Trojans and never let them get any closer than eight points on their way to the 70-56 win. HC's defense again keyed the run as the Foresters held the Trojans to just one field goal in the first ten minutes of the game and 25% shooting in the first half. The Forester offense, which had been struggling as if late, came to life, hitting 10 of its first 16 shots and finishing at 46% for the game. HC's Jessah Martin had a solid all-around performance, leading the Foresters with 19 points while holding Taylor's play-maker, Lydia Harris, to just five points on the day. Lane Allen continued her resurgence with her second double-double in a row. She scored 18 points on 6-6 field goals and 6-7 free throws and grabbed 10 rebounds. Sarah Gordon and Bethany Strom each added 10 points. Taylor's Suzie Hayden led all scorers in the game with her 21 points off the bench. The win draws the women back to .500 with a 10-10 record on the season and a 3-3 record in the MCC. Box Score Defense Lifts Foresters
to Win After a mediocre half that led to a 33-33 tie, the Foresters picked up the intensity on the defensive end, holding the Lancers of Grace College to just 24 second half points, and notched the 68-57 win. HC's Sarah Gordon and Jessah Martin came out of the locker room on fire, hitting five 3-pointers between them, to spark a 17-4 run during the first 6 minutes of the second half. The Forester defense forced Grace into five missed shots and five turnovers during that same time frame. Gordon, who had struggled from the field in the previous two games, seemed to find her rhythm again in the second half, going 5-6 from the field, including 4-4 from behind the arc, and finished with a game-high 21 points. Lane Allen picked up her first double-double in conference play, scoring 15 points and grabbing 15 rebounds, and Martin finished with 16 points. Grace's Angie Krach led four Lancers in double figures with 16. With the win, the women move to 9-10 on the season and 2-3 in the MCC. Box Score Foresters Falter Late The Bethel College Pilots overcame an opening 19-6 run by the Foresters to earn the hard-fought 63-58 win on the road. HC used some sticky defense to keep the 14th-ranked Pilots under control for about 30 minutes, but down the stretch, gave up too many offensive rebounds and committed too many turnovers, giving Bethel the momentum they needed to turn the tide. With both teams' defenses dominating, neither team got many good looks on the offensive end. HC's Sarah Gordon and Bethel's Shallon Bowden, the top scorer on each team, were both held to nine points in the game. Rhonda Doud and Jessah Martin both scored 12 points to lead the Foresters, while Chasity Zellers had a team-high 11 points for the Pilots. The loss drops the women to 8-10 on the season and 1-3 in the conference. Box Score Frigid
Shooting Costs Foresters Shooting as frigid as the temperature outside led to the Forester's demise as they fell 67-58 to Marian College. HC missed its first 11 field goal attempts in the game, spotting the Knights a 17-1 lead to open the game, and finished the half hitting just 21.4% (6-28) from the field. In the second half, the Foresters improved to 38.7%, which enabled them to get within six twice, but on both occasions, Marian was able to answer with a big basket to hold off HC. Sarah Gordon led all scorers in the game with 22 points, but suffered through her worst shooting performance of the season, hitting just 7 of 29 shots on the night. Rhonda Doud was the lone Forester with a hot hand, going 4-6 from the field, including 3-3 from behind the arc and 4-4 from the line. The Knights put three in double figures with Megan Dean scoring a team-high 18 points. The loss drops the women to 8-9 on the season and 1-2 in the MCC. Box Score HC Tops Goshen A 19-0 run to start the game gave the Foresters enough cushion to earn an MCC victory on the road, defeating Goshen College 62-50. Despite their early shooting woes, the Maple Leafs battled back to within two twice in the second half, but on both occasions, Sarah Gordon hit a long 3-pointer to keep the Foresters in the lead. HC then sealed the win by hitting 11 of 12 free throws down the stretch, including Jami Kelley's 6 for 6 performance in the closing minutes. Gordon led all scorers in the game with 19 points and a team-high 9 rebounds. Jessah Martin and Kelley also scored in double figures, scoring 13 and 12 respectively. Jennifer Rupp scored 18 points off the bench to lead Goshen. The win draws the Foresters back even at 8-8 on the season and 1-1 in the conference. Box Score Foresters Fall in MCC
Opener Too little too late was the tale of the Forester's MCC opening game. Down 41-30 at the break, HC fought back to within two at 49-47, but couldn't get over the hump and fell to the Cougars of St. Francis 78-69. Poor shooting and carelessness with the ball led to the Forester's first half deficit, and their inability to keep the Cougars off the boards in the second half gave St. Francis additional opportunities to fight off their runs. The Cougars put four in double figures with Nickole Behnke leading the way with 20. Sarah Gordon had 20 to lead the Foresters. The loss drops the women to 7-8 on the season and 0-1 in the conference. Box Score Foresters Knock Off
#16 Cardinal Stritch After a disappointing loss in their opening game at the Hampton Inn Classic, the Foresters responded by knocking off the NAIA #16th-ranked Cardinal Stritch Wolves 71-67. HC ran out to a 17-point lead early in the game by taking advantage of some sharp shooting and capitalizing on turnovers created from its press. But the Wolves fought their way back to within 39-37 at the half. In the second half, each time the Foresters pushed the lead back to a comfortable margin, the Wolves would come charging back, and on two occasions, took a one point lead. Both times HC answered with a trey to regain the lead, one by Janna Knisely and one by Jami Kelley with 1:05 left in the game that put HC up 69-67. Jessah Martin's two free throws with :21 left sealed the win. HC's Sarah Gordon lead all scorers with 21 points, Martin finished with 20 and Bethany Strom added 10. Sara Bayer and Megan Pazdera each had 15 to lead Cardinal Stritch. The women conclude the pre-conference portion of their schedule with a 7-7 record. Box Score Foresters Fall to
Warner Southern A poor shooting half cost the Foresters as they fell to host Warner Southern College 70-60 in their first game of the Hampton Inn Classic in Lake Wales, Florida. After trailing 37-35 at half, HC went cold from the field, shooting just 39% from the field while the Royals got hot, canning 50% of their attempts to keep the Foresters at bay. Sarah Gordon led HC with 17 points and Bethany Strom chipped in 11. Warner Southern put four in double figures with Stina Olsson leading the way with 17 points, including 5-9 from downtown. The loss drops the women to 6-7 on the season. Box Score #18 Cedarville Downs Foresters The NAIA #18-ranked Cedarville Yellow Jackets had too many weapons and downed the Foresters 87-72. HC put together one of its best halves of the season, shooting 52% from the field and playing the Yellow Jackets to a 38-38 tie at the half. But the Cedarville shooters heated up early in the second half, while the Foresters managed just nine points over the first ten minutes. Kirsten Rossotti led four Yellow Jackets in double figures with 25. HC's Sarah Gordon took game high honors with 27 and Lane Allen chipped in 13, all in the second half after getting into some early foul trouble. "Cedarville has a lot of talent and are definitely a Top-25 team," said Coach Culler. "I was pleased with our performance in the first half, they just raised their intensity level another notch and we didn't match it." The loss drops the women to 6-6 on the season. Box Score Gordon MCC Player of
Week HC's Sarah Gordon was selected as the MCC Player of the Week for the week of December 9-14. During the week, Gordon went 7-15 and poured in 26 points in the Foresters' win over Siena Heights University. She hit 5 of 10 3-pointers and 7 of 8 free throws. Foresters Dismantle
Saints The Foresters' full court pressure proved to be too much for Siena Heights as they forced the Saints into 29 turnovers on their way to the 61-46 win. Although HC struggled from the field, shooting just 34% for the game, the Forester defense held the Saints to just seven field goals in the second half and capitalized on several of Siena Heights' miscues to put the game out of reach. HC's Sarah Gordon led all scorers in the game with 26 points, including five from beyond the arc, and Jessah Martin added 11. Becky Dore had 15 points on five 3-pointers to lead the Saints. With the win, the women improve to 6-5 on the season. Box Score Foresters Split Pair at
Trinity Int'l Playing in the Santa Lucia Classic at Trinity International University, the Foresters split a pair of games to move to 5-5 on the season. In Friday night's action, HC played the host Trojans and came away with the 70-64 victory. Sarah Gordon and Lane Allen led the charge for the Foresters, scoring 18 and 17 points respectively. On Saturday, HC was stung by the Queen Bees of St. Ambrose University, falling 76-62. As has been the case early this season, the Foresters struggled to handle the height of St. Ambrose. The Queen Bees used their size to crowd the paint and held HC to just 8 points from its post players, while the guards struggled to find the range from the perimeter. To add to their woes, the Foresters also were outscored 29-5 at the line. Gordon led all scorers in the game with 28 points and Jessah Martin added 12 points and 7 assists. Box Scores Foresters Fall Prey to
Cougars The Foresters had trouble matching up with the size of the NAIA 11th-ranked Spring Arbor Cougars and fell 88-75. The Cougars ran out to a 53-40 half-time lead by pounding the ball inside and using their height advantage to score almost at will over the smaller Forester defenders. When HC came out cold early in the second half, the Cougars pushed the lead to 23, before the Foresters finally were able to put a rally together. HC drew within nine at 84-75 with 1:14 to go, but could get no closer. Sarah Gordon continued her hot shooting, connecting for 24 on 10-20 shooting, including 4-8 from behind the arc, and Bethany Strom took advantage of her opportunities, hitting 4 of 5 field goal attempts and all 7 of her free throws to finish with 15 . Jessah Martin and Lane Allen also reached double digits for the Foresters, scoring 12 and 11 respectively. Portia Reilly led four Cougars in double figures with 19 points. The loss drops the women to 4-4 on the season. Box Score Foresters Fall At
Buzzer The Foresters erased a 13-point deficit in the second half and took a one-point lead with :52 left on the clock, but Sara Zembrzuski's turn-around jumper found the bottom of the net as the buzzer sounded to give the Cougars of St. Xavier the 86-85 win. The Cougars used some sharp shooting from long range, knocking down eight first-half treys, to build a 51-40 half-time lead, while HC struggled at the line hitting just 9 of 22 free throws. HC managed to climb back into the game behind Sarah Gordon and Jessah Martin's hot hands, who combined to score 34 of HC's 45 second half points. Gordon finished the contest with a game-high 28 points, including 6-11 from behind the arc, and Martin had 26 points and eight assists. "There were several occasions that we could have thrown in the towel, but we just wouldn't go away," said Coach Culler. "It was unfortunate that we had such a poor performance from the line when two free throws could have been the difference in the game." The loss drops the women to 4-3 on the season. Box Score Foresters Rout
Bluffton Riding two 11-2 runs in the first eight minutes of the game, the Foresters took charge early and never looked back, routing Bluffton College 88-48. HC used some stifling defense to force the Beavers into 22% shooting for the game, while the Foresters knocked down 45% of their shots. Lane Allen continued her hot streak going 6-7 from the field and 2-2 from the line. Her 12 rebounds gave her her fourth double-double of the season. Also in double figures for HC were Sarah Gordon and Bethany Strom, who scored 14 and 13 respectively. Strom also grabbed seven rebounds in the game, six of which came on the offensive end. Jami Kelley and Jessah Martin each added seven points and five assists. Bluffton was led by Karen Harris with 10 points. With the win, the women improve to 4-2 on the season. Box Score Foresters Pick Up Road
Win The Foresters traveled to Tri-State University on their first road trip of the season and came away with the 68-60 win. With the Thunder battling hard on the boards, the Foresters had a difficult time putting their opponent away, but were able to convert on many of Tri-State's turnovers to maintain the lead throughout the game. HC also got better offensive balance from it's starting line-up, putting four in double figures. Lane Allen led the way with 15 points on 7-7 shooting and pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds. Sarah Gordon and Jami Kelley both finished with 14 and Jessah Martin added 11. Tri-State's Krista Brockway took game-high honors with 19 points. The women move to 3-2 on the season with the win. Box Score HC Runner-Up
in Tournament It was a tale of two halves as the Foresters fell to the Panthers of Ohio Dominican College 67-59 in the Championship game of the Huntington College-AmeriHost Tournament. Down 8-7 four minutes into the game, the Foresters ran off 14 straight points to take a commanding 21-8 lead and held a 38-24 edge at the half. HC put on a shooting clinic in the first half to take control of the game, shooting a blistering 65% from the field, including 7-9 from downtown. Then came the second half. The Panthers came out of the locker room and turned up the heat defensively on the Foresters. HC did not respond well to the pressure, turning the ball over several times and shooting a dismal 27% (7-26) from the field. After getting contributions from several players in the first half, Sarah Gordon was the lone offensive bright spot for the Foresters in the second period, scoring 17 of HC's 21 points to give her a career-high 30 for the game. Gordon, who needed 27 points in the game to reach the 1000-point plateau, went 11 for 18 from the field, including 6 of 11 from 3-point range, and reached the milestone on a 3-pointer with 10:31 left in the game. Gordon joins 11 other HC women's basketball alums as a member of the 1000- Point Club. The only other Forester to reach double figures was Rhonda Doud, who scored all 11 of her points in the first half. Ohio Dominican put three Panthers in double figures with Becky Richter dropping in 19, all in the second half, to lead the team. The loss evens the women's record at 2-2 on the season. Box Score
Foresters Move to Tournament Final The Foresters overcame a sluggish start to beat the Trolls of Trinity Christian College 73-60 and earn a spot in the championship game of the Huntington College-AmeriHost Tournament. HC's Sarah Gordon and Bethany Strom keyed the win for the Foresters. Strom, having played for the Forester volleyball team the previous evening, came off the bench to spark the team with 14 points, while Gordon scored 19 of her game-high 26 points in the second half to help keep the Trolls at bay. Trinity Christian's Kara Bruxvoort was the lone Troll to reach double figures with 25 points. With the win, the women move to 2-1 on the season. Box Score
Foresters Run Over Indiana Tech The Foresters jumped out to an early 11-0 lead over the Warriors of Indiana Tech and never looked back, winning easily 67-47. HC used a sticky full court defense and some sharp shooting to even their record at 1-1 on the season. With the Warriors averaging 85 points per game coming into the contest, the Foresters knew they needed to perform well on the defensive end. HC held the Warriors to 21 points in the first half, while shooting 57% from the field to help them build a 19-point lead at the half. Indiana Tech got to within 16 with 9 minutes to go, but the Foresters responded with an 11-4 run to put the game out of reach. HC's Lane Allen led the team with 17 points and 10 rebounds, her second straight double-double on the season, and got help from Jessah Martin and Janna Knisely, who scored 13 and 12 points respectively. Thyoshi Chambers was the lone Warrior to score in double digits with 17. "This win should give the team a boost of confidence," said Coach Culler. "I thought we did a good job of sticking with our game plan and were successful in executing our running game." Box Score
Foresters
Fall Short in Opener The women's basketball team
opened their season with a disappointing 84-82 overtime loss to IU South
Bend. Down 70-61 with 2:32 on the clock, things looked bleak for the
Foresters, but a rally, capped off by a Sarah Gordon 3-pointer with 5
seconds remaining, was enough to send the game into overtime. The
Foresters held a slim 75-74 lead early in the extra period, but the Titans
went on a 6-0 run and then hit free throws down the stretch to seal HC's
fate. Sophomore transfer Jessah Martin had an outstanding debut clad
in a Forester uniform, scoring a team-high 30 points on 11-20 shooting,
while adding 3 assists and 4 steals. Sarah Gordon also showed a return
to form, hitting for 28 points on 10-18 shooting, including 6-9 from behind
the arc, while teammate, Lane Allen, chipped in a double-double with
16 points and 10 rebounds. IU South Bend's junior forward, Nan Kogge,
dominated the paint, scoring a game-high 35 on 14-16 shooting and 7-12 from
the line. "I was pleased with our effort today," said Coach
Culler. "We could have quit when we were down nine late in the
game, but the team rose to the challenge and gave themselves another
opportunity to try to pull out a win." With the loss, the women
are 0-1 on the season. Box Score |