HUNTINGTON, Ind. — Just about the time 18th-ranked University of Saint Francis looked like it may end up as road kill, the Lady Cougars climbed out of a 12-point deficit for a 66-59 road thrill at Huntington University on Wednesday night.
USF’s fifth consecutive win pulled the Lady Cougars within a game of first place in the Crossroadd League after No. 9 Taylor University tripped up No. 7 Marian University 70-63 in Upland, Ind. That leaves TU and MU tied for first and USF tied for third with 19th-ranked Indiana Wesleyan University.
The Trojans come to USF for the rematch at 1 p.m.
HU outscored USF 21-12 in the first quarter and the Foresters pushed the advantage to 12 at 26-14 with 6:10 to play in the second quarter. That’s when the Lady Cougars put their paws down.
Whitney Will started the USF comeback with a bucket in the paint at 5:47 and by halftime, USF only trailed by a point, 28-27, closing the half with an 11-2 finish.
Kara Gerka hit two free throws with 8:50 to play in the third quarter give USF the lead, 29-28, and the Lady Cougars led the rest of the way. Savannah Buck nailed a 3-pointer at 8:09 for a 32-28 USF lead extending USF’s surge to 16-2 going back to the second quarter. Buck’s 3-pointer also ended an 0-for-9 USF start from 3-point range, which had to be a big relief after the Lady Cougars went 0-for-8 from the arc in the first half.
USF led 46-40 at the end of the third quarter and built two 11-point leads early in the fourth quarter. Emma Applegate‘s 3-pointer gave USF a 51-40 lead with 8:56 to play. Sidney Croweopened up the 11-point bulge again with a 3-pointer at 3:59, 58-47. The Foresters used a 10-2 surge chopping the USF spread to just three, 60-57, after a Brooke Saylor bucket with 51 seconds to play. McBryar was fouled and cashed in both free throws for a 62-57 lead.
McBryar hit two more free throws after an HU 3-pointer miss and after a Will steal, Applegate added two free throws with 19 seconds for an insurmountable nine-point lead, 66-57. While USF kept HU at arm’s length hitting six free throws in the final minute, the Foresters missed two 3-pointers and three shots inside the arc before Saylor scored with three second left to complete the scoring.
Gerka shook off a sluggish first half scoring 16 of her game-high 23 points in the second half. She’s scored 1,350 points in two-plus seasons and moved up to No. 10 on the USF career scoring list passing Amy Parrett (1998-01), who finished with 1,346 points. McBryar scored 14 points and moved past 800 with 809.
Buck finished with nine points and led USF in assists with six and rebounds with six. Will started and scored seven points. Applegate came off the bench and contributed eight points including two 3-pointers.
After going 0-for-9 from the arc, USF buried six of its last 12 3-pointers no question saving the best for last. And the Lady Cougars shot .867 at the free throw line in the second half connecting on 13-of-15 attempts.
