MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — When Huntington’s LaTahia Jackson finished off a conventional three-point play with 5:26 left in Saturday’s game at University, the Highlanders had cut their deficit in half to 35-32.
But much like they did throughout the afternoon, the Hawks relied on their defense down the stretch. University limited Huntington to one field goal and five points the rest of the way, outscoring the Highlanders 10-5 down the stretch to claim a 45-37 victory.
“We’ve been really anchoring down on the defensive end,” UHS head coach David Price said, “and I think the offense will come as the year wears on.”
A technical foul assessed to the Highlanders’ bench — the second of the contest — allowed the Hawks’ Ashten Boggs to make two free throws with 4:51 remaining.
Leading by five, University (8-4) then put together perhaps the most important possession of the game. The Hawks worked the ball around the perimeter to use clock, before Abbie Coen worked herself free for an uncontested layup with 2:55 left.
“We wanted to work the ball on the offensive end and make sure we got good looks,” Price said. “I thought down the stretch we got a little better looks when we were doing that.”
The Hawks led by at least six the rest of the way, with Kaitlyn Swann’s jump shot that made it 43-36 proving to be the lone Huntington (8-4) field goal over the final five-plus minutes.
“I thought their girls played well,” Huntington head coach Lonnie Lucas said of UHS. “We didn’t step up to the challenge.”
The Highlanders got 3-pointers from Ravyn Goodson and Swann in the late stages of the opening quarter to hold a 12-11 lead.
Boggs scored four points early in the second period to help the Hawks take a 17-14 lead, and her two free throws capped the first-half scoring to send UHS into the break with a 23-20 advantage.
Coen scored from close range twice early in the third quarter to give the Hawks a 27-21 lead, before Huntington reeled off five straight points to get to within one.
However, Mallory Napolillo answered with a critical 3 late in the third that helped UHS take a 31-27 lead into the fourth.
“We were forcing stuff and trying to shoot over (Huntington’s Madison Slash) and that wasn’t working out very well,” Price said. “Mallory did a great job sending her somewhere and then stepping through, so you have to give her a lot of credit for that. That helped us.”
Boggs and Napolillo did the bulk of the scoring for the Hawks. Boggs led all players with 20 points and grabbed eight rebounds, while Napolillo was 6-of-10 shooting with 14 points.
Swann’s 11 points were a team-high in the loss, while Jackson scored 10. The Highlanders’ Madison Slash led all players with 13 rebounds, helping Huntington outrebound UHS, 32-27. The Hawks helped offset that by forcing 16 turnovers and committing 10.