YATES CENTER — The Yates Center Wildcats were challenged with a different sort of matchup Tuesday evening against the Eureka Tornadoes, and it’s the little things that made the difference.
In a low-scoring matchup wrought with fouls and missed shots, the Lady Wildcats overcame a deficit to down Eureka 31-28.
Those “little things” turned out to big things in the end.
The Wildcats had only one point on their opponent with two minutes remaining, and a foul brought Mindi Holloway to the line. Holloway was held silent after a pair of early three pointers in the first quarter due to foul trouble.
Holloway drained four consecutive free throws on two appearances at the line to put the lead out of reach for Eureka.
“This is my first year, but according to the girls this is the first time we haven’t taken Eureka into overtime in a while,” Assistant Coach Jennie Davis said following the game.
Competition was intense from the get-go. The Tornadoes opened with a 4-0 lead before the Wildcats ended the quarter with an 8-0 spurt.
Holloway — generally the lead scorer for the Wildcats — had three fouls in the beginning of second with six points. She would sit for the majority of the game. The lack of lead scorers was evident. The halftime score was 12-11 with Eureka in the lead.
“I was proud of the girls that they kept fighting,” Davis said.
The Wildcats kept their head above water to be in the lead, 20-19, going into the fourth.
Holloway led for Yates Center with 10, followed by Shayne Karmann with eight and Aubrey Smith with seven.
The Wildcats travel to Caney Valley Friday.
Eureka 8-4-8-8—28
Yates Center 8-3-8-12—31
Eureka (FG/3pt-FT-F-TP): Boone 3/1-1-4-10, Kelly 3-2-3-8, Coins 1/1-0-2-5, Mouer 0-3-3-3, Birkholz 0-0-1-0, Zimmers 0-0-1-0. TOTALS: 8/2-6-13-28.
Yates Center (FG/3pt-FT-F-TP): Wendland 0-0-2-0, Albert 2-0-3-4, Rossillon 0-1-4-1, Karmann 3-2-0-8, Holloway 0/2-4-4-10, Smith 2-3-1-7, Jones 0-1-1-1. TOTALS: 7/2-11-15-31.
YC girls win 31-28 thriller
