Valparaiso got 35 points from its bench on Wednesday night while spreading minutes out throughout the roster as the Crusaders defeated Huntington 79-58 at the Athletics-Recreation Center.
Only Betsy Rietema (Grand Rapids, Mich./Christian H.S.) saw more than 20 minutes of action on the night (23) and every Crusader played at least nine minutes in helping Valpo notch its second straight victory.
Valpo led by six, 37-31, at intermission, but used a 13-2 run over five minutes midway through the second half to break the game open, extending its advantage to 58-41 with 11:37 to play. The advantage would not get below 13 the rest of the way, and a late 8-0 spurt capped by a Launa Hochstetler (Berlin, Ohio/Hiland H.S.) three-pointer put the contest out of reach.
Rietema moved into 10th place on Valpo's career scoring list with her game-high 19 points on the night, and now has 1,028 for her career. She also had a game-high four assists. Sarah Ott (Chippewa Falls, Wis./Chippewa Falls H.S.) added 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the floor.
Evva Comans (Zonhoven, Belgium/Kindsheid Jesu Hasselt H.S.) added a career-high 10 points off of the bench in 15 minutes of action, going 5-of-7 from the field. She also tied her career high with four rebounds. Hochstetler and Carrie Myers (Stickleyville, Va./Lee H.S.) each added nine points for Valpo, with the latter making three triples as the Crusaders went 11-of-21 (52.4%) from downtown on the night.
Amy Berry led Huntington (9-5) with 13 points, 11 in the first half, while Jenna Donaldson added 10 points for the visitors.
Valpo shot 52.5% from the floor on the night, including 59.3% after halftime, while Huntington made 47.2% of its shots, including 54.5% in the first half to stay in the contest.
Valparaiso (6-7) will return to action on Saturday afternoon as the Crusaders open up Mid-Continent Conference action against preseason favorite Oral Roberts. The game will be shown live from Tulsa, Okla. on Lakeshore Public Television as well as broadcast on WVUR (95.1-FM, Valparaiso) and online at www.valpo.edu/athletics. Tip-off is set for 12:05 p.m. against the Golden Eagles.
