HUMBOLDT — Humboldt High’s magic carpet ride through the 2021 postseason came crashing to earth Saturday.
After knocking off the top-seeded Uniontown Eagles one night earlier in the Class 2A Substate Tournament, Humboldt’s offense was stymied repeatedly by an oppressive Pittsburg St. Mary’s-Colgan defense in the title game.
The No. 2 seed Panthers held Humboldt without a field goal until the third quarter in a 46-19 victory.
The loss ends Humboldt’s season at 13-8.
Colgan’s defense controlled the game from the outset. The Panthers led 15-4 after one quarter, and then outscored Humboldt 15-0 in the second. All of Humboldt’s points came from Jada Dangerfield and Kirstyn Murrow.
Dangerfield’s jumper with 6:40 left in the third quarter marked the Lady Cubs’ first points from the field, good enough to pull Humboldt within 25-6.
“We couldn’t buy a bucket to save our lives,” Humboldt head coach Aubrey Jones said. “It was one of those cases, where we started scrambling and getting away from what we wanted to do. We were trying to find our composure.”
Dangerfield, one of four seniors in her last game in the orange and black, picked up Humboldt’s offense in the second half. She scored four in the third quarter and five in the fourth to wind up with a team-high 11.
“In the second half, we started getting back into what we wanted to do,” Jones said.
Colgan’s lead stood at 37-9 after three quarters. The lead swelled to as much as 31 down the stretch.
Jones praised Dangerfield’s play, as well as the contributions on and off the court from her entire senior class.
“Jada’s such a great leader,” Jones said. “She’s got a great attitude. It’s gonna hurt to lose her. It’s gonna hurt to lose them all.”
Jones noted she’s coached Jessica Myers since Myers was a sixth-grader. Isabelle Murrow’s hustle and drive were highlights, and Zoey Wilson is one of Humboldt’s unsung heroes.
“Zoey doesn’t get as much playing time as anybody wants, but there’s not a bigger factor on the team than her encouragement,” Jones said. “That kid is everybody’s biggest supporter, everybody’s biggest fan. She never once had a bad attitude, never once complained about a lack of playing time. That kid is phenomenal.”
SATURDAY’S game was a far cry from Friday’s conquest of Uniontown, in which Humboldt led from the start. A 15-1 run broke a 4-4 deadlock, putting the Lady Cubs in control.
Uniontown briefly pulled within six in the second half, but could not muster enough offense against Humboldt’s stingy defense.
Dangerfield had 12 to pace a balanced scoring effort. Isabelle Murrow and Karley Wools added nine apiece, while Kirstyn Murrow and Myers both had seven.
