HUMBOLDT — It took the Humboldt girls a while to get the gears in motion, but once they got in the game, they were hard to stop.
The Lady Cubs came out victorious 41-34 in a close match against the Neodesha Blue Streaks Tuesday night at home. It was their first Tri-Valley League win in four years.
“The girls played well for the entire game,” head coach Sherri Nelson said. “When it boiled down to it, we wanted it more.”
It took until the second half to prove they wanted it.
Scoring started close between the two teams. The Blue Streaks came out with a 4-0 run over the Cubs, before Lakota Wilson took the matter of scoring into her own hands. She had seven of the Cubs’ nine points in the first quarter, including a 3-pointer with just under three minutes left.
The beginning of the second quarter had Humboldt down 10-9. Both teams had trouble hitting from the field. Neodesha’s Kaiti Johnson had the first field goal at the five-minute mark. The Cubs’ only four points in the second quarter came entirely from free throws made by Wilson and Whitney Strack. It was an aggressive defensive battle as well — there were 22 combined fouls for both teams in the first half. The Blue Streaks ended the half on top, 16-13.
With just under five minutes left in the third quarter, the Cubs began to show a spark of life. Wilson hit a 3-pointer, followed by a quick steal off of the inbound pass and layup by Breanna Kline. Strack had another steal/layup combination shortly after. That is when things started to click for the Lady Cubs.
Sheri Middleton hit a 2-pointer from the paint with a rebound, tying the game for the first time at the buzzer going into the fourth quarter, 25-25.
The Blue Streaks jumped ahead early in the fourth, with some key free throws from Megan Littau. Littau dominated in the paint for most of the game.
Kline hit a three to tie the game once again at 30. Cheyenne English went to the line and hit both of her free throws to give the Cubs a two-point lead for the first time in the game with 5:28 on the clock. They would keep that lead for the remainder of the game.
Despite Enlgish fouling out with just under four minutes in the contest, Neodesha didn’t have enough to get back in the contest. Middleton hit from the paint, followed by some key free throws from Delaney Umholtz. The Blue Streaks began to foul and that is all she wrote.
Nelson said her team played well for the entire contest, but everyone still needs to learn their strengths.
“Everyone has to learn their role,” Nelson said.
Wilson had a impressive performance on the evening, leading with 20 points overall. Kline followed with seven and Middleton contributed four.
Coach Nelson said it was important the girls had a chance to have fun and come out victorious — something that hadn’t happened in a long time in league play.
“The most important thing for me was to see their pretty smiles,” Nelson said.
The Lady Cubs face-off against the Yellow Jackets in Fredonia on Friday.
Neodesha (10-6-9-9—34)
Humboldt (9-4-12-16—41)
Neodesha (FG/3pt-FT-F-TP): Dean 1-0-2-2, Johnson 3-1-3-7, Gutschenritter 2-1-5-5, Anderes 1-1-4-3, Noss 0-0-3-0, Lamendola 0-0-1-0, Littau 3-10-3-16. TOTALS: 10-14-18-34.
Humboldt (FG/3pt-FT-F-TP): Kline 1/1-2-4-7, Middleton 2-0-3-4, Riebel 0-1-1-1, Hudlin 0-0-2-0, English 0-2-5-2, Strack 1-1-0-3, Wilson 2/3-7-3-20, Menzie 0-2-3-2, Umholtz 0-2-0-2. TOTALS: 6/4-17-21-41.
Lady Cubs pick up league victory
