John Bruce, Staff Writer
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
CHILLICOTHE — With Piketon doing everything it could to slow down Huntington’s top scoring threat, junior point guard Tori Smith knew that she would have to help lighten the load for her Huntsmen on Wednesday night.
Smith answered the bell at every turn, scoring a game-high 19 points to lead Huntington to its first SVC win by a 43-38 tally.
Coming into the contest, Huntington’s Allie Baker was second in the SVC in scoring at nearly 26 points per game. Because of that, Piketon used its top scorer, Laila Kelley, to swarm Baker all over the floor, forcing the Huntsmen (2-2, 1-2 SVC) to find a secondary scorer.
CREDIT: Derrick Webb/SOSA
Early in the game, those duties were divided between Smith and freshman Brailee Hauswirth. Smith did her work on the drive while Hauswirth used her size and skill on the block to score.
Hauswirth also hit a cutting Baker for her only basket of the opening quarter to help the Huntsmen take an early lead.
The Redstreaks (1-4, 1-2 SVC) missed their first six shots before senior Abrial Johnson splashed a triple from the right wing. A tough drive and score from Kelley was followed by a deep 3 of her own to give the Redstreaks an 8-5 lead later in the quarter.
However, the Huntsmen closed the quarter on a 7-1 run, which was capped with a 3-pointer in the closing seconds from Smith, to go ahead 12-9 after eight minutes of play.
Huntington looked as though it would start to ease out to a bigger advantage as Hauswirth and Smith each scored inside to help slowly increase the lead.
But the ‘Streaks wouldn’t back down as they got scores from Haydn Daniels and Jaylin Forbes before a late steal and score from Dani Ritchie cut the deficit to 20-16 with 1:13 to play in the half.
Smith countered with two late free throws, giving the Huntsmen a 22-17 halftime lead.
The third looked to be leaning Huntington’s way. The Huntsmen led 29-21 with just over three minutes to play in the period as Baker, Hauswirth and Araya Smith each scored to add to the lead.
Piketon began to up its defensive pressure, leading to a basket from Forbes, before the sophomore forced another turnover and sent a leading pass to Reese Shanks, who finished a layup on the other end and forced a Huntington timeout with two minutes to play in the third.
Eventually, the quarter closed with the Huntsmen leading, 32-28.
Early in the fourth, a triple from Johnson brought the ‘Streaks to within one at 32-31 with 7:14 to play. But that would be the closest Piketon would get as Smith started to take the game over shortly after.
After a pair of free throws made it a 34-31 Huntington lead, the junior took a dribble handoff near the top of the key before driving hard with her left hand, drawing contact and knocking down a floater to the left of the lane with 5:03 left, grabbing all of the momentum.
Smith finished the three-point play at the stripe to make it a six-point game and all but put the game away.
“I knew [Piketon] was going to come out face-guarding Allie,” Smith said. “So I knew I had to step up and be there for my team. I think that 3 gave us a lot of momentum because everybody got really excited. It was a big part of the win.”
There was no quit in the Redstreaks, highlighted by a wing 3 from Shanks with 1:40 to play, making it a four-point game. But Baker and Smith would salt the game away at the free throw line, pushing Huntington past the finish line.
Smith closed the game with a game-high 19 points while Baker added 11 and Hauswirth contributed 10. Huntington had a significant advantage at the free throw line, outscoring Piketon 20-8 while also shooting a much better percentage (62.5% – 40%).
With each team having multiple players foul out, the benches were a key factor in the high quality of play.
Piketon was led by Johnson with 11 points while Shanks added nine points and seven rebounds off the bench.
The Redstreaks dominated the glass with a 35-17 advantage, led by the collection of nine caroms from Ritchie.
Both teams are back in action on Saturday as Piketon travels to an improved Zane Trace while Huntington hosts the always-tough Southeastern Panthers.
“We know that when we come into practice, we have to [work to] win these SVC games,” Smith said. “We have to focus. We goof off and have fun after wins. But we have to lock in after.”
BOX SCORE
Piketon: 9-8-11-10 — 38
Huntington: 12-10-10-11 — 43
Piketon: 13-45 FG, 8-20 FT, 4-18 3pt., 17 rebounds, 15 turnovers, 8 assists. Scoring: Johnson 11, Shanks 9, Forbes 7, Kelley 6, Ritchie 3, Daniels 2.
Huntington: 11-25 FG, 20-32 FT, 1-5 3pt., 17 rebounds, 14 turnovers, 4 assists. Scoring: T. Smith 19, Baker 11, Hauswirth 10, A. Smith 2, McCloskey 1.
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