Ford Ties CCS Record For Steals In A Game As Hawks Fall At Piedmont

DEMOREST, Ga.-Hitting the road following a 5 game conference home stretch, Huntingdon Women's Basketball dropped their first CCS contest of the season 67-64 at Piedmont. Senior guard Makayla Ford filled the stat sheet despite the loss, recording a double-double with 16 points and 10 steals, tying the Collegiate Conference of the South record for steals in a game. 

First Quarter

Huntingdon flew out of the gates, securing a 20-13 lead by the end of the first quarter. Ford and the Hawks defense set the tone early, as she picked up 5 of her 10 steals for the afternoon within the opening period. To get things started, Deshauna Foote, Kennedi McCray, Kiya Crayton, and Ford each cashed in on their early attempts to hand Huntingdon an early 9-1 lead by the 6:40 mark. As the quarter played on, Piedmont played their way back into it, cutting the lead to 16-11 with a minute remaining, but four consecutive points from Ashanti Thomas brought the quarter to a close with the Hawks still in control. 

Second Quarter

The tables began to turn in the second quarter, as the Lions outscored Huntingdon 22-19 to cut Huntingdon's halftime lead to four, 39-35. The second quarter saw another strong start for the Hawks, as baskets from Deshauna Foote and Thomas raised the lead momentarily to double-digits, 25-15, by the 8:26 mark. Over the course of the next minute and a half however, Piedmont strung together a run to draw within two, 25-23, before ultimately taking a 29-27 lead by the 5:17 mark. The Hawks, trailing by four, 35-31 with 2:22 to go in the half, pieced together a 8-0 run of their own, seeing baskets from Foote, Thomas, and Dalyce Sanders to close out the half hanging on to a four point lead. 

Third Quarter

The back-and-forth affair that came about in the second quarter continued in the third, as Piedmont narrowly outscored Huntingdon 19-18 to cut into the lead even further entering the final quarter of play. The two teams traded baskets and stops early in the quarter, but four consecutive unanswered points for Kennedi McCray pushed the Hawks advantage to six, 47-41, with 6 minutes to go in the period. Makayla Ford followed McCray wiith 8 straight points of her own to cap off Huntingdon's 12-2 run that pushed brought the lead back to double digits at 55-43. Piedmont responded emphatically however, closing the quarter on a run that reduced the Hawks lead to just 3, 57-54, with a quarter to go. 

Fourth Quarter

Piedmont's strongest quarter came in the final 10 minutes, as the Lions held Huntingdon to just seven points for the quarter to walk away with a 67-64 victory. Huntingdon went nearly 7 full minutes without a basket, as Charity Shaw's jumper at the 3:34 mark served as their first points in the quarter. Nonetheless, the Hawks remained solid on defense to that point, with Shaw's jumper securing a 59-57 Huntingdon lead. Piedmont managed to take a 60-59 lead on the following possession, but Dalyce Sanders quickly followed with a triple of her own to put Huntingdon back ahead 62-60 with 2:55 to go. The Lions answered, but Kennedi McCray kept the score even at 63 with a free throw nearing the final two minutes, which Shaw followed with one of her own, but those proved to be the Hawks final points. Coming down the stretch, Piedmont secured a lead and the Hawks couldn't find the basket to answer, resulting in their first conference loss of the season. 

Huntingdon will look to bounce back on Tuesday, January 13th at home as the face LaGrange. Tip-off is set for 5:00 PM CT.