Strong start propels Lady Hawks past GSAC rival Salem

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Huntingdon senior LaTerial Williams opened the scoring in both halves as the Lady Hawks knocked off Salem College 60-49 on Saturday at Roland Arena.

Williams hit a 3-pointer to help Huntingdon start the game with a 16-0 run. A Williams field goal opened the second half and a 26-6 run that helped put the game away.

The win is the fourth straight for Huntingdon (7-4, 2-0 Great South Athletic Conference).

"It's big for us to be 2-0 in the conference and 7-4 overall. We want to keep that going," Huntingdon head coach Buzz Phillips said. "We started strong today, but we still have to learn how to handle a lead. We built a big lead early, but we didn't hold on to it. By halftime, we only led by four points.

"When we went into the locker room, we told the girls one of two things was going to happen in the second half. We were either going to come out, play hard and pick it back up or Salem was going to keep coming back. Our girls answered the challenge. We stretched the lead back out and finished the game."

After building an 18-point lead midway through the first half, the Lady Hawks led 31-27 at the half.

Salem (1-7, 0-2 GSAC) was able to stay with the Lady Hawks for the first few minutes of the second half, before Huntingdon blew the game open.

Six different Huntingdon players scored during the second-half run as the Lady Hawks built a 24-point lead. Williams led the effort with eight points during the span and freshman Patricia Pickens scored five points. Williams also scored eight points during the initial 16-0 run to open the game.

Williams finished the game with 16 points, six rebounds and three assists and Pickens added 10 points and seven rebounds. Jodi Montalvo matched a Huntingdon season-high with 11 rebounds and Sekal Ousley pulled down seven rebounds. Montalvo also had seven points. Raven Prater finished with eight points and five rebounds.

"We had several players do good things for us today," Phillips said. "A senior (Williams) led us in scoring and freshman Patricia Pickens had another good game. She has averaged 10 points in each of the past three games.

"I'm proud of Jodi Montalvo and the way she played inside. Our inside game has been a lot better the past two games. Today, we did a very good job of limiting their second-chance shots."

The Lady Hawks continue conference play on Wednesday, hosting Spelman at 6 p.m.