WELLSVILLE — After trailing by as many as 18 in the first half Friday, Humboldt High’s girls came out of the break of their Class 3A Substate semifinal with a renewed sense of purpose.
In so doing, the Lady Cubs trimmed top-seeded Eureka’s advantage to six, 43-37, with momentum clearly swinging in their favor.
“We needed to come out and throw some punches,” Humboldt head coach Aubrey Jones said. “And credit to my team. They threw every punch they had.”
But after holding Eureka without a field goal the first 6-plus minutes of the second half, a few key plays ended the run in a flash.
“It was like we took a breath,” Jones said. “And the moment we took a breath, Eureka stepped on it.”
The Tornadoes ended the third quarter with an 11-0 run to reclaim control of what became a 68-52 victory.
The defeat ends the Lady Cubs’ season at 14-8. Eureka moves on to tonight’s substate championship round to face Wellsville, for a berth in next week’s state tournament.
A barrage of fouls and early turnovers put the Lady Cubs in a quick deficit.
The Tornadoes put together an early 13-4 run to lead 17-6. Another blast to start the second period put Eureka on top 32-14.
A pair of reserves kick-started a mini rally for the Lady Cubs. Alayna Johnson scored six points and Aricah McCall five as Humboldt crept back to within shouting distance, 39-26, late in the half.
“We talked about it in the locker room,” Jones said. “We were not by any means satisfied with how the first half went. We were a much better team than that, much more aggressive than that.”
A feistier bunch emerged from the locker room, shutting down Eureka’s vaunted inside game for much of the quarter.
Problem was, Humboldt wasn’t doing much scoring, either. McCall’s bucket with 4:30 left in the quarter was the first point for either team. A pair of Winter Snyder free throws precipitated a McCall steal and Snyder field goal. Suddenly the lead was down to single digits, 41-32.
Freshman standout Madelyn Koop ended Eureka’s drought with a pair of free throws at the 3:11 mark, but Humboldt’s Maggie Johnson responded with a 3-pointer. A McCall steal and two free throws cut the gap to 43-37.
Another empty Tornado possession gave the ball back to Humboldt. But a 3-point attempt on the Lady Cubs’ possession was just long.
