HUMBOLDT — On a night of runs, it seemed like Tuesday’s clash between Iola High’s and Humboldt High’s girls was destined to come down to the last possession.
Twice, the Mustangs had come back from deficits, and when Iola’s Harper Desmarteau hit both free throws to knot the score at 34-34, fans were bracing for a county’s worth of tension over the final 1:36.
Humboldt decided to dispense with the drama a bit sooner.
Leaning on their defense and rebounding, the Lady Cubs effectively put the game away over a 25-second stretch, scoring the last seven points in a 41-34 victory.
The win, coming in the first round of the Class 3A Substate Tournament, sends Humboldt (13-8) to the semifinal round against Heritage Christian Academy at 6 p.m. Friday at Wellsville High School.
Iola (7-14) enters the offseason with equal parts heartbreak and optimism for next year and beyond.
“A win is a win,” Humboldt head coach Aubrey Jones said. “At this point in the season, it’s just a matter of survive and advance. We’re just happy we get to keep practicing basketball in this weather rather than being outside for softball and track.”
Humboldt is afforded the opportunity to push back its focus on the spring sports for a while longer, thanks to the Lady Cubs’ ability to slow down Iola’s vastly improved post game.
Humboldt effectively stymied Iola’s ability to get the ball inside, and when Humboldt had the ball, was able to get multiple second-chance buckets because of its offensive rebounding.
“”We are a good rebounding team, but it killed us tonight,” Mustang head coach Kelsey Johnson agreed. “That’s not something we’d really struggled with.”
After Desmarteau’s charities tied the game late, the Lady Cubs took a 36-34 lead on Kenisyn Hottenstein’s offensive putback with 56 seconds remaining.
It was Hottenstein who then corralled the rebound off a Desmarteau miss 16 seconds later. She was fouled, and then hit both free throws for a four-point lead.
The Lady Cubs induced an Iola turnover at midcourt, forcing Humboldt to foul once again
This time it was Kenisyn Hottenstein at the line. She hit the first free throw, and missed the second. Right there for another offensive rebound was Humboldt’s Shelby Shaughnessy, who scored on the putback for the clincher.
“The girls really fought back so hard,” Johnson said. “I hate this time of year, and I love this time of year, because only one team goes home and feels good about it.”
