Hastings Colleges Women Advance to Sioux City

(Hastings, NE) – The #12-seed Huntington Foresters gave the Bronco fans a bit of a scare in the first half, going up by as much as eight points with 6:52 left in the second quarter, but #4-seed Hastings used their defensive pressure and depth to wear down the Foresters to win, 90-66.

Hastings had an early lead with a basket from freshman McKenna Yates and a free throw by sophomore Rachel Goodon to go up 3-0, but a 14-4 run put Huntington up 14-7 with 4:37 left in the quarter. Sophomore Bailey Kissinger set up a layup for senior Kiernan Paulk, then after a steal and layup from Kissinger, Paulk got a steal and Kissinger found freshman Jentri Marx for a layup, cutting the lead to one.

Kissinger later answered a Huntington triple with a three-point play of her own to make it 17-16 with 2:23 left in the opening quarter. The Foresters later went up 24-18 with 32 seconds left, but Goodon rebounded a three-pointer by junior Mariyah Avila and kicked it back out to Avila for a buzzer-beating deep two, making it 24-20 after one.

No scoring occurred for nearly the first two minutes of the second quarter, as Huntington drilled a three to go up seven and later went up 30-22 with 6:52 left in the half. Trailing 33-25, Kissinger scored and after a defensive stand, Avila knocked in a three. Huntington turned it over on their next possession and Yates found Goodon for a layup to bring the deficit to one halfway through the quarter. A steal and assist by sophomore Tathis Arredondo to Yates gave Hastings a one-point lead that grew to three on a second straight bucket from Yates. 

Leading 38-36 with less than 90 seconds left in the half, Avila hit one from behind the arc, then she answered two Huntington free throws with two of her own to go up five with 17 seconds left. Hastings forced a turnover with three seconds left and Kissinger got fouled on a layup off of a full-court pass. She made the first and missed the second, but Avila got the offensive rebound and layup to put Hastings ahead 46-38 at halftime.

Hastings led by eight at the break despite shooting just 36 percent from the field and 21 percent from three. Huntington made 9-15 threes in the first half, but Hastings took the halftime lead by forcing 16 turnovers. Avila led Hastings at the break in scoring with 14 points.

Huntington began the third quarter with a triple, then after Yates answered back with a two threes, the Foresters drained another from deep. Goodon scored inside, but Huntington came right back with their three three of the half, cutting the lead to seven, and managed to get within three at 54-51 with 5:45 left in the third. Freshman Ann Bose came off the bench and drilled a big three, and with a 59-53 lead, Marx extended the lead back to eight at the 3:39 mark.

Arredondo pushed the lead to 10 off of a Goodon assist and after two Goodon free throws, junior Macy Bryant got a steal and scored on the other end to go up 14. The Forresters did cut the lead to 12 at 67-55 with a two in the final minute going into the forth.

Bose scored on a second-chance basket to start the fourth, then after a Huntington basket, Hastings went on a 7-0 to take control, including an and-one play from Bose, as Hastings led 76-57 at the 7:32 mark. Bose pushed the lead to 22 with a three off the feed from Kissinger to make it 83-61 with 4:53 left.

On the next defensive possession, Kissinger forced a turnover and laid it in on the other end. She came right back the play after with a defensive rebound and took it strong to the rim, scoring and drawing the foul to extend the lead to 88-61 after the free throw with 3:47 left. The Broncos would lead by as much as 29 points in their 90-66 win, as they outscored Huntington 23-11 in the fourth and 70-42 after the first quarter.

Both teams were held under 40 percent from the field and while Huntington shot 45 percent from three compared to 24 percent from Hastings, the Broncos had a 26-8 advantage in the turnover department, scoring 35 points off of them. Hastings also won the rebounding battle by eight in the second half and had 45 bench points in the game compared to 12 by the Foresters.

No Bronco played more than 21 minutes, as they utilized their depth to get the win. Kissinger led the team in scoring with 17 points, along with seven rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Avila had 14 points, six assists, and two steals, while Yates had 12 points, seven rebounds, and two steals. Bose had her first career double-double with 11 points and a career-high 10 rebounds. Arredondo led the team in assists with seven to go along with her two points and three rebounds.

Hastings will travel to the final site of the NAIA National Championship in Sioux City, IA where they will play #1-seed Bethel (TN) on Thursday, Mar. 20. at 1pm