HUMBOLDT — Whatever Humboldt girls team lost to Eureka on Friday, head coach Aubrey Jones doesn’t really care to meet again. However Tuesday’s team — the one that suffocated Uniontown 52-22 — that’s a team she could get to know.
Humboldt girls played in the opening round of the Emprise Bank basketball tournament to get their first win of the season
“We got over the Friday hump, whatever it was,” Jones said. “We were much more back to what I expect out of our kids. We were back in our zone.”
The Lady Cubs were already playing well when they took a 26-13 lead into halftime. Turnovers were limited, shots were falling and Uniontown was struggling to score against the Lady Cubs’ defense.
But when they came out of the locker room for the second half, they hit a whole other level.
Uniontown almost didn’t even score in the third quarter while Humboldt had a 15-0 run to open the half. The Lady Eagles failed to score a field goal while going 1-2 on two occasions late in the quarter to stop the run.
“We talked at halftime that we were still a bit lethargic and slow in the first half and that we needed to come out and pick up the speed,” Jones said. “They did a good job really pushing the ball down the court instead of just walking it up.”
The Lady Cubs slowed a bit in the fourth quarter, scoring just 11 while allowing seven points from Uniontown but by then, the game was well in hand.
Junior Maggie Johnson was Humboldt’s lone double-figure scorer putting up 13 points including two threes in the first half. Sophomore Winter Snyder and junior Aricah McCall each came close, scoring nine points each.
Despite having such a strong showing, Jones still sees areas for her team to improve going into Thursday’s game versus Crest.
“We still could use some better passes,” Jones said. “They’re seeing people but still waiting a second too long and throwing it into someone else’s hands We need to get a quicker reaction or better vision.”
The Lady Lancers only made two baskets in the entire game on Tuesday so another strong defensive effort is certainly in the cards for the Lady Cubs.
Tip-off is at 7 p.m.
PHOTO: Junior Maggie Johnson takes the ball down the court in Humboldt’s 52-22 win over Uniontown on Tuesday. REGISTER/TIMOTHY EVERSON
