MARION, Ind. -- No. 9 Indiana Wesleyan University women’s basketball fell behind early and was unable to climb out of the hole in a 74-66 home loss to No. 22 Huntington (Ind.) in Luckey Arena. IWU trailed by as many as 18 points and was able to trim it to three points or less three times in the fourth quarter before Huntington pulled away for the eight point victory.

Game Vitals

• Score:  Indiana Wesleyan - 66   |   Huntington - 74
• Records:  Indiana Wesleyan 18-4, 7-3 Crossroads League   |   Huntington 15-7, 5-5 Crossroads League
• NAIA Top- 25 Rank:  Indiana Wesleyan - No. 9   |   Huntington - No. 22  
• Location:   Luckey Arena   |   Indiana Wesleyan University   |   Marion, Indiana 
• Brief:  No. 9 Indiana Wesleyan University women’s basketball fell behind early and was unable to climb out of the hole in a 74-66 home loss to No. 22 Huntington (Ind.) in Luckey Arena. IWU trailed by as many as 18 points and was able to trim it to three points or less three times in the fourth quarter before Huntington pulled away for the eight point victory.
   

What Went Down

• Huntington exploded out of the gate with the first nine points of the game.
• The Foresters led by as many as 11 points in the opening quarter and finished with a 19-9 advantage.
• Huntington opened the second quarter on a 10-2 run to extend their lead to 29-11.
• HU took a 39-26 lead into halftime.
• Indiana Wesleyan trailed by 12 at 52-40 with 3 minutes remaining in the third quarter. But IWU made their big push with a 9-1 run to end the third quarter and closed to within 53-49 on a Kelsey Key (JR/Anderson, Ind.) 3-pointer at the buzzer.
• The Wildcats cut the deficit to two points with a basket to open the fourth quarter.
• Huntington answered the 11-1 run with a 3-pointer. IWU would trim the deficit to three points on two other occasions but would get no closer the rest of the way.
• Four Wildcats scored double figures. They were:  Haley Woodruff (JR/Evansville, Ind.) with 15, Kelsey Key with 12, Carlee Cottrell (SR/West Bloomfield, Mich.) with 12, and Erika Isham (SR/Tekonsha, Mich.) with 10.
• Both teams shot 49-percent from the field.
• Indiana Wesleyan c omitted five turnovers in the first quarter then just five over the final three quarters.
  
   

Coach’s Corner

• “I don’t know why we came out and started so flat. That first quarter put us down 19-9 and that just set the tone for the entire game. When we did battle back we were able to have a chance.”  -- IWU head coach Steve Brooks
   

Extra! Extra!

• Indiana Wesleyan and Huntington have split their eight games dating back to the 2013-14 season.
• Since the 2013-14 season, Indiana Wesleyan is 1-3 vs. Huntington in Luckey Arena but is 3-1 at Huntington.
  
   

Next Time Out

• Indiana Wesleyan hosts a Top-25 opponent for the second straight game as No. 3 Marian (Ind.) comes to Luckey Arena on Wednesday. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.