Lady Hawks fall to Maryville in battle of conference leaders

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Huntingdon women's basketball team rallied from an early double-digit deficit and took Maryville to the final seconds on Friday night.

In a matchup of the USA South Athletic Conference West Division leaders, Huntingdon came up just short in a 48-45 loss.

Huntingdon (10-3, 3-1 USA South) and Maryville (11-3, 3-0 USA South) entered Friday night as the first two 10-win teams in the conference this season.

Juliette Harp turned in her sixth double-double of the season for Huntingdon, finishing with 14 points and 11 rebounds. She also had three blocked shots.

T.I. Duncan just missed a double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds. Duncan also had three steals and three assists.

Jenna Dorman added 10 points and Maia Hill had seven points, including a half-court shot at the buzzer to close the first half. Hannah Parks had a game-high four assists.

Huntingdon fell behind by 12 points, 18-6, late in the first quarter but rallied with an 18-2 run and pulled ahead 24-20 with 5:24 left in the first half. Neither team would lead by more than five points for the remainder of the game.

In the final quarter, Maryville pulled ahead 47-42 with 1:45 to play. Huntingdon answered with a Duncan 3-pointer to make it 47-45 with 1:28 remaining.

The Lady Hawks had two opportunities to tie the game in the final minute, but could not get their shots to fall. Forced to foul, Huntingdon sent Maryville to the free-throw line with six seconds remaining.

The Scots hit 1-of-2 free throws to make it a three-point game. Huntingdon set up for a 3-point attempt at the buzzer but the shot was off its mark.

Huntingdon returns to action on Saturday at home, hosting conference rival Covenant at 4 p.m.