HOUGHTON, NY – A dominant performance on the glass lifted the Houghton Highlanders past the visiting Hilbert Hawks on Wednesday night, 71-39.
 
Houghton pulled down an impressive 53 boards, compared to only 26 by the Hawks.
 
Early on it looked like the Hawks were primed to hand the Highlanders their first loss of the season, as Hilbert jumped out to an 8-3 lead in the first five minutes. 
 
But Houghton regained their composure and finished the quarter with a 19-12 lead.
 
By the half the Highlanders led 33-18, turning in a dominant second quarter performance.
 
The second half would again belong to the Highlanders, as they allowed only nine rebounds and grabbed 25, pulling away for their fourth win of the season.
 
GAME VITALS
Score: Houghton – 71 | Hilbert – 39
Records: Houghton: 4-0 |Hilbert: 0-5
Venue: The Nielsen Center, Houghton University | Attendance: 142

NOTABLE STATS
>> Anna Dening poured in a team-high 14 points, the second straight game she has reached that number.  Dening knocked down 5-of-8 shots, including 4-for-7 from beyond the arc.
 
>> Abby Guiher nearly matched Dening shot-for-shot, hitting 4-of-6 shots, all from beyond the three-point line for 12 points.
 
>> Kayla Camacho collected 12 points, seven rebounds, two blocked shots, and two assists, while Tabitha DeVries posted eight points, a career-high 15 rebounds, four assists and three blocked shots.  Camacho crossed the 750 career points line with her final basket.  She now has 751.
 
COACH'S CORNER
"It's always fun to get a home win.  There's a lot of little things that need to be cleaned up as we move forward, but I was very happy with how we shared the ball tonight--18 assists on 27 made baskets is an impressive stat, in my mind.

"We are going to come back tomorrow and compete in practice to get ready for a scrappy Pitt-Brad team on Friday." - Head Coach Phil Pellegrino 
 
UP NEXT
The Highlanders return to the Nielsen Center on Friday, when they will host the University of Pittsburgh-Bradford Panthers at 7:00 p.m.  The Highlanders have won the last two, and four of the last five, meetings between the two teams.