IU Southeast escapes Platt Arena with 69-67 win over HU

HUNTINGTON, Ind. – Friday night's game came down to the wire with IU Southeast (4-1) slipping past the Forester women's basketball team 69-67 as part of the HU Classic. It was Emmy Ralph's layup with three seconds remaining that proved the game-winner. The junior guard was a handful all night having scored a game-best 28 points to go along with eight rebounds and four assists.

The Foresters also struggled to contain Ralph's backcourt companion in Lauren Lambdin who tossed in 20 points as the pair combined for all but 21 of IUSE's points.

Alli Vaughn and Gabi Melby got HU off to a hot start by accounting for 11 of the game's first 15 points for an 11-4 HU lead by the midway point of the first quarter. Unfortunately, there was a lid on the hosts' basket for a spell as they wouldn't score again until Dazia Drake's first three of the contest 90 seconds into the second quarter. It knotted things up at 14-14.

It was still a tied ballgame at 20-20 three minutes later, but the Grenadiers went on a 9-4 run to close out the frame to head into the locker room up 29-24. The Foresters got within three after three quarters of play only to watch their deficit balloon to eight, the game's largest disparity, with 8:20 remaining.

Maddy Robrock jumpstarted HU's comeback with a ten-foot jumper after which Drake nailed her fourth three of the game followed by eight straight points by Emily Seboe which included back-to-back long balls to trim IUSE's lead to a single point at 58-57 with four minutes to go.

Two other Foresters stepped up after that. Ruby Bolon came up with a big and one after which Konnor Gambrell kissed one off the glass down low to give Huntington its first lead since the first quarter of 62-60 with two minutes remaining.

After trading empty possessions, play by both teams was impressive. It was the Vaughn show for HU as the 5-10 sophomore cashed in on an old-fashioned three-point play and then got fouled and made the bucket but not the freebie on the next trip down the floor. Unfortunately it wouldn't be quite enough as the Grenadiers scored on all four of their last possessions to eke out the one-point win.

Vaughn finished with a career-best 18 points to go along with five rebounds and three assists. Drake scored all 12 of her points behind the arc while Seboe added 11, all in the second half.

Huntington (2-4) is back at it tomorrow at 3:00 p.m. to host IU East.

The Huntington University Foresters compete in 17 intercollegiate sports for men and women. In the past decade, Huntington has produced 125 NAIA All-America honors and 449 All-America Scholar Athlete honors. Huntington University is a comprehensive Christian college of the liberal arts offering graduate and undergraduate programs in more than 70 academic concentrations. U.S. News & World Reportranks Huntington among the best colleges in the Midwest.