HUMBOLDT — It’s likely not doing much for their head coach’s blood pressure, but Humboldt High’s Lady Cubs have made a habit of starting strong, faltering a bit in the middle, and then making the necessary plays down the stretch to earn a victory.
Take Tuesday’s showdown with fellow unbeaten Marmaton Valley.
As they’d done often already this season, Humboldt started strong, again with the hot shooting of guard McKenna Jones.
Jones connected from 3-point range twice in the first quarter as the Lady Cubs raced to a 19-5 lead.
“McKenna was really good last night,” Humboldt head coach Aubrey Jones said. “She was hitting her shots, even though they were face-guarding her.”
Wildcat head coach Becky Carlson said, “We stuck with them. We just couldn’t get past that deficit.”
Humboldt improved to 5-0 on the season with a 38-29 victory. The loss drops Marmaton Valley’s record to 3-1.
“I was happy with the last four or five minutes of the game,” Jones said. “We did a really good job of taking care of the ball, slowing down the offense, and making the plays we needed to.”
After the slow start, Marmaton Valley got back into the game, outscoring the Lady Cubs 12-4 in the second quarter to pull to within 23-17 at halftime.
“Offensively, we have this horrible habit of starting hot and heavy, and struggling from there,” Jones said. “We forced some shots.”
But the Humboldt defense kept up the pressure throughout.
“Humboldt did a good job of rebounding,” Carlson said. “They have a really balanced team. It’s not like you can key on one or two players.
“And it wasn’t that we played horribly,” she continued. “When your shots don’t fall, it gets frustrating. We’re pretty good at the fast break, and they took that away.”
Jones, too, is pleased with her team’s ability to make winning plays down the stretch, with a tough matchup looming Friday against Neodesha to wrap up the pre-Christmas schedule.
“Physically, Neodesha will be a big test of what we’re made of,” she predicted.
