Lady Cats pull to 51-35 win at Marmaton

MORAN — It took about two quarters for Humboldt High’s Lady Cubs to shake off the cobwebs from their Christmas break.
But Humboldt found its rhythm midway through the third quarter, courtesy of its pressure defense, and pulled away to a 51-35 win over host Marmaton Valley High.
The win lifts the Lady Cubs’ record to 5-2. Marmaton Valley falls to 2-4.
“I told the girls the key was getting the 50-50 balls,” Humboldt head coach Aubrey Jones said, “and they responded after halftime.”
The third quarter turned when Humboldt’s pressure started creating its own offensive opportunities.
“Turnovers, turnovers, turnovers,” Marmaton Valley head coach Gavin Cole said. “When we forced them to run a half-court offense, we weren’t bad. But when we turned the ball over, and gave them layups, it’s tough to keep a team under 40 points.”
Tilar Wells’ 3-pointer in the final 30 seconds of the third quarter gave Humboldt a 36-28 lead. Lakota Wilson pushed the lead to double digits for the first time with a bucket to open the fourth quarter. Her steal and coast-to-coast layup a minute later pushed the lead to 40-28.
Marmaton Valley never got back to single digits again.
Sophomore Kyla Drake gave Marmaton Valley an early burst, scoring seven as the Wildcats emerged on top, 11-10, after one quarter. Wilson took over for the Lady Cubs in the second period, scoring nine, as the Lady Cubs took a 25-21 lead into halftime.
The lead wavered between four and seven points until Wells’ trey gave the Lady Cubs some breathing room.
“Delaney Umholtz was a big spark for us tonight,” Jones said. “She came in and really hustled after the 50-50 balls, played some great defense, and ran the floor well, leading to some points.”
A balanced scoring attack paced the Lady Cubs. Wilson led the way with 13 points, while Brook Turner added nine, Makaylah McCall had seven and Annalise Whitcomb and Breanna Kline scored six each.
“That shows our unselfishness,” Jones said. “I don’t really care where the points come from. When we run our offense well, we can get open shots.”
Cole said he saw glimmers of hope from his youthful Wildcat squad, which features four sophomores and a junior in its starting lineup and a handful of freshmen coming off the bench.
“I was very pleased with how Kyla started the game,” Cole said. “We’d been getting after her to be more aggressive, and I think she saw what can happen when she does.
“But we need to take the next step and show improvement,” he continued. “If we want to get this program where we want to be, we need to take it to the next level this season.”
Mackenzie Tynon provided most of Marmaton Valley’s offense after halftime, finishing with 14 points for the game. Misty Storrer added seven.
Humboldt prevailed, 33-13, in the junior varsity game. Wells, Rylan Wilhite and Hannah Hudlin scored seven apiece for the Lady Cubs.
Marmaton Valley returns home Friday to host Crest. Humboldt resumes play next Tuesday at home against Yates Center.
Humboldt 51, Marmaton Valley 35
Humboldt (10-15-11-15—51)  (FG/3pt-FT-F-TP): Kellar 0-0-2-0, Umholtz, 2-1-2-5, Wells 1/1-0-2-5, Turner 3-3-3-9, McCall 3-1-2-7, English 0-0-2-0, Whitcomb 2-2-2-6, Kline 3-0-2-6, Wilson 5/1-0-1-13. TOTALS: 19/2-7-18-51.
Marmaton Valley (11-10-7-7—35) (FG-FT-F-TP): Cary 0-0-1-0, Stevenson 0-0-1-0, Storrer 2-3-4-7, Drake 5-1-4-11, Newman 0-3-0-3, Tynon 5-4-4-14. TOTALS: 12-11-14-35.