HUMBOLDT — A cool third quarter prevented Humboldt High’s girls from having an even better end to the week. ON THURSDAY, the Lady Cubs learned — eventually — how to deploy rugged defense without fouling in their 58-46 win over Crest.
As it stands, Humboldt’s 44-37 loss to Erie in the final round of Humboldt’s preseason tournament only slightly dampens the luster of the team’s first victory of the season one night earlier.
“Tonight, the Lady Cubs did a lot of things that we have been needing,” Humboldt head coach Sherri Nelson said. “We came out and executed our plan perfectly.”
Humboldt led 13-11 after one quarter and 23-18 at halftime. But the Red Devils outscored the Lady Cubs 14-4 in the third quarter to take a 32-27 lead.
“We are only one quarter from seeing a lot of wins,” Nelson said. “We just didn’t make enough plays, but the kids showed some of their potential tonight. That was great to see.”
Freshman Makaylah McCall led the way with 11 points, four rebounds, a steal and two assists. Lakota Wilson followed with six points, four rebounds and two steals. Tilar Wells had five rebounds and two assists. Morgan Morris had five points. Cheyenne English had four points and six boards. Kayle Riebel added two points, as did Karsyn Menzie and Anna Whitcomb.
“With the way the officials call fouls like this, it’s one of the hardest things to teach,” Lady Cub head coach Sherri Nelson said.
It wasn’t easy.
After rolling to a 20-8 lead after one quarter, fouls started to mount on Humboldt, and Crest took full advantage.
“We were dominating everything,” Crest head coach Ben Vaughn said, “offense, defense, rebounding.”
Crest eventually cut their deficit to a single point in the third quarter before Humboldt responded once again.
“We had three straight turnovers, and they hit some shots, and suddenly it’s an eight-point game,” Vaughn said. “It’s frustrating.”
The Lady Cubs pushed their lead to nine, 45-36, by the end of the third, and fended off every Lady Lancer challenge down the stretch.
“We got a little too complacent after that first quarter,” Nelson said. “Make that a lot too complacent. It was ugly at times, but we finally were able to get out and run, and run smartly. It was nice to see the girls come out with a well deserved victory.”
Tilar Wells drained four 3-pointers on the way to a team-high 16 points to lead Humboldt. Lakota Wilson had 12 points, six rebounds and eight steals. Anna Whitcomb and Makayla McCall both scored eight. Morgan Morris had four steals, Allie Johnston had three and Delaney Umholtz and Cheyenne English both had two.
Laurel Godderz was Crest’s primary catalyst, pouring in 18 points. Miranda Golden chipped in with eight. Karlee Hammond scored eight.
Humboldt is at Yates Center Tuesday. Crest hosts Pleasanton. Crest’s results from Friday against Uniontown were not available.
Thursday
Crest (8-15-13-10—46)
Humboldt (20-11-14-13—58)
Crest (FG-FT-F-TP): M. Covey 2-0-1-4, Hammond 3-2-2-8, Frank 1-2-2-4, Godderz 5-8-2-18, Golden 2-4-4-8, Seabolt 0-4-4-4, T. Covey 0-0-1-0. TOTALS: 13-20-14-46.
Humboldt (FG/3pt-FT-F-TP): Umholtz 0-0-1-0, Wells 2/4-3-16, Johnston 0-0-1-0, McCall 3-0-4-6, Riebel 1-2-4-4, Hudlin 0-0-1-0, English 1-2-2-4, Whitcomb 4-0-3-8, Wilson 6-0-2-12, Menzie 1-0-2-2, Morris 2-0-5-4. TOTALS: 20/4-4-28-56.
Humboldt girls down Crest
