Hawks pull away from LaGrange in final minutes

MONTGOMERY, Ala.  – The Huntingdon women's basketball team put LaGrange College away in the final minutes in a 57-47 win on Wednesday night.

The Hawks led by as many as 16 points in the second half before LaGrange made a late push and took a 43-42 lead with 5:33 to play. Behind the scoring of Shaonica Thomas and Ry Whetstone, Huntingdon regained control of the game and outscored the Panthers 15-4 in the final 5:20 of the game.

Thomas and Whetstone combined to score 15 of the Hawks' 16 points in the fourth quarter. Whetstone scored to put Huntingdon back in front and scored six points during the final run. Thomas scored eight points in the final five minutes.

Leading by five points, 52-47, Thomas, Whetstone and Indya Lawrence combined to make 5-of-8 free throws in the final 1:10 of the game.

Thomas finished with 17 points and six rebounds and Whetstone recorded a double-double of 12 points and 13 rebounds. Keturah Billen added seven points, nine rebounds and three steals and Lawrence had seven points and three assists.

With one conference game remaining, Huntingdon is third in the West Division of the USA South with an 11-4 conference record. Berea leads the West Division with a 14-1 conference record and Piedmont is second with a 12-3 conference record. Huntingdon closes the regular season at Piedmont on Saturday.

Records: Huntingdon (12-12, 11-4 USA South); LaGrange (15-9, 8-7 USA South)

Coming Up: Huntingdon plays at Piedmont on Saturday at 1 p.m. (Central).