Wildcats
Pull Away from Highlander Women
(Houghton,
N.Y.)—For a while it looked as if the Houghton College women’s
team would hang right with Daemen College, but then the Wildcats
showed why they are ranked #17 nationally in the National
Association of Intercollegiate Athletics’ Division II, pulling
away for an 86-61 victory at the Nielsen Center Tuesday night.
Houghton looked strong in the first half, getting to
halftime trailing 42-34. “We took care of the ball and rebounded
well in the first half,” said Skip Lord, Houghton’s head coach.
“And they are an elite rebounding team.”
“In the second half, though, they showed why they’re
ranked where they are by turning up the defensive pressure,”
Lord added.
Indeed, the Wildcats harassed the Highlanders into
12-39 (30.8 percent) shooting in the second half, shutting out
Houghton for the first five minutes while stretching their lead
from eight to 18 (52-34). The game never got real close again,
as the Wildcats pulled away.
Shannon Daugherty (pictured at left)
was a bright spot for Houghton, leading the team with 15 points
on 7-15 shooting. Leah French had 14 points; Ashley Dupler had
10 points and nine rebounds.
The loss drops the Highlanders to
14-11, 7-6 in the American Mideast Conference North Division.
The Wildcats are perfect in the AMC North at 13-0, and improved
to 22-5 overall. Houghton closes out its regular season on the
road at Malone College on Saturday, February 23, at 5:30 p.m.
