HUMBOLDT – Scoring 50 points seemed a lofty goal for Humboldt High’s Lady Cubs. Humboldt head coach Sherri Nelson put the challenge out there for her players.
The Lady Cubs responded with a little extra Thursday night beating Crest High’s Lady Lancers 52-24.
Humboldt and Crest came in winless overall in the HHS Second Annual Emprise Bank Basketball Tournament. The teams staged a pretty even game for the first half.
Taylyn Wells’ three-pointer at the 1:44 mark of the first quarter put Humboldt up 7-4. The Lady Cubs led 9-5 at the end of the period.
But to start the second quarter, Crest got back-to-back baskets from Katrina Strickler and Shayla Stephens on transition plays. The game was tied two more times.
Breaking a 13-all score was Humboldt freshman Breanna Kline on a drive to the basket. Kline, who came off the bench to lead all scorers with 19 points, ignited an eight-point run by the Lady Cubs.
Emily Frank sank two free throws right before halftime to pull Crest to within six, 21-15, at the break.
The second half belonged to the Lady Cubs. They held the Lady Lancers to just nine points while scoring 31.
“We scored 37 points Tuesday night which was the most a Humboldt team had scored in awhile. I challenged the girls to get 50,” Nelson said after the game.
“Our confidence level is rising. The girls are seeing the stuff we work on every day in practice working in a game for them. They are working hard.”
Nelson said she was pleased with how the Lady Cubs are finding their roles on the team. She said they played a lot of people Thursday night and “everyone contributed. Our bench players are giving us great minutes out there.”
Kline not only led the team in scoring coming off the bench but she had 12 steals. Wells had seven steals. Sheri Middleton had a double-double with 13 points and 17 rebounds. Morgan Morris pulled down 11 rebounds.
Crest struggled from the free-throw line as the Lady Cubs put the Lady Lancers on the line 24 times. The Lady Lancers only hit six.
Strickler and Kurston Gilliland led Crest with six points each.
Humboldt is 1-2 overall and 1-1 in tournament play. The Lady Cubs faced Erie on Friday to wrap up the round-robin tournament. Crest (0-3) played Uniontown Friday in the tournament.
Humboldt (9-12-17-14-52) (FG/3-pt): Kline 9-1-1-19, Bartlett 0-2-4-2, K. Riebel 0-0-3-0, Strack 1-0-5-2, Wells 1/1-1-3-6, Young 3-0-2-6, Middleton 4-5-2-13, Morris 1-2-2-4, English 0-0-2-0. TOTALS: 19/1-11-24-50.
Crest (5-10-6-3-24): Stephens 2-0-3-4, Frank 1-2-0-4, Strickler 1-4-4-6, Gilliland 3-0-4-6, Gray-LaCross 0-0-1-0, Kellar 1-0-0-2, Tush 0-0-1-0, Covey 1-0-4-2. TOTALS: 9-6-17-24.
Lady Cubs beat Lady Lancers
