Basketball Recap: Hunter Comes Up Short

Hunter was not able to break out of their rough patch on Friday as the team picked up their fourth straight loss. They fell 65-54 to the Tooele Buffaloes. The Wolverines were given a dose of their own medicine in this game as the Buffaloes apparently hadn't forgotten their defeat the last time these teams played back in November of 2023.

When it comes to explaining why Hunter lost, don't look at Grace Gallagher. Despite the final result, she dropped a double-double on 28 points and 21 rebounds. Gallagher has been hot for a while, having also posted two or more blocks the last 26 times she's played. Another player making a difference was Kiana Pauni, who posted eight points and five rebounds.

Even though they lost, Hunter smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 22 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards in nine consecutive matchups.

Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Tooele to victory, but perhaps none more so than Halle Hogan, who earned 19 points along with eight assists and seven steals. Those eight assists gave Hogan a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Kennedy Searle, who shot 5-for-9 from beyond the arc and almost dropped a double-double on 17 points and nine boards.

Hunter's loss dropped their record down to 3-10. As for Tooele, the win made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 9-5.

Hunter will be playing in front of their home fans against Taylorsville at 7:00 p.m. on January 10th. Hunter has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last three games. As for Tooele, they didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next contest, a 48-47 victory against Cottonwood on the 7th.