HUMBOLDT — Humboldt High’s fan base may want to do a fingernail check.
Tuesday’s 37-36 slug-fest win over Uniontown to open the Humboldt Preseason Tournament wasn’t secured until the Eagles’ Rylee Coulter’s last free throw with 2 seconds to go. Coulter was given three tries at the line when she was fouled while attempting a tying 3-pointer to secure the win.
Coulter’s first free throw bounced high off the rim, skimming the backboard, before dropping through the basket.
Her second free throw was perfect, barely grazing the nylon as it swished through the hoop.
But just as Coulter was lining up her third attempt, Humboldt’s head coach Aubrey Jones called timeout.
The strategy worked. Coulter’s final attempt bounced off the rim, and time ran out before either team could gain control of the ball.
“Credit to the girls,” Jones said. They picked themselves up by the bootstraps and came back. It shows we can have a little fight-back; where they can have a little bit of adversity and still power through.
“We’ll have to come with our heads screwed on right for Thursday and Friday,” Jones said.
The game started beautifully for Humboldt, as the Lady Cubs took turns finding their teammates with crisp passes that led to open looks.
Six Humboldt players scored in the first quarter as the Lady Cubs raced to a 16-6 lead.
But Uniontown turned to its inside strength on offense, and packed in its defense, to dare the Lady Cub players to attempt shots from the outside.
“They packed it in, and we let them pack it in,” Jones said. “We didn’t get our spacing right. We went cold, and I think we started feeling sorry for ourselves.”
The Eagles slowly chipped away at Humboldt’s advantage, pulling to within 25-18 at halftime and 29-27 after three.
Humboldt’s McKenna Jones scored on back-to-back layups midway through the fourth quarter as Humboldt pushed ahead, 35-29, with 3½ minutes left in the game.
But four straight Lady Cubs missed free throws, accompanied by a Coulter layup and a traditional 3-point play from Ella Shelton that sliced the lead to 35-34 with 29 ticks left.
Shelby Shaughnessy hit a pair of free throws to end Humboldt’s scoring drought, making it 37-34.
