HUMBOLDT — After a slow start out of the gates for Humboldt and Marmaton Valley, the Lady Cubs came up with a victory Tuesday night at home, 54-22.
The teams combined for a meager six points in the first quarter. The Lady Cubs led 4-2 before their press turned into some easier points. Humboldt led 14-8 at halftime.
“Once they started going, they never looked back,” Humboldt head coach Sherri Nelson said.
As for the Wildcats, Head Coach Gavin Cole said he would like to blame his team’s performance on the long holiday break, but he admitted they were making the same mistakes they made in the first half of the season.
“It’s the same old things, not rebounding and being strong with the ball,” Cole said. “We just didn’t run things well, that’s all you can say.”
Injuries aren’t helping either.
Mackenzie Tynon, the leading scorer for the Wildcats, is out indefinitely with a knee injury following a practice injury in December. Freshman Kyla Drake went down in the second half with an apparent ankle injury.
The Cubs put the hurt on some more after intermission, with an especially strong second-half performance from Lakota Wilson from the paint. She led the way with 21 points, 10 rebounds, five steals and two assists. She was followed by Delaney Umholtz with eight points and five steals. Kayle Riebel chipped in with eight points and six boards. Tilar Wells followed with seven points and eight steals. Makaylah McCall had four steals and three assists. Megan Hudlin added six steals. Anna Whitcomb also had three steals.
The Lady Cubs pulled in a whopping 33 steals on the night.
Ashlynn Pinkerton led the Wildcats with six points.
Cole said his Wildcats will need to step up and perform, especially in the face of injuries, if they have any shot of defeating Crest on Friday.
The Cubs travel to Fredonia next Tuesday.
Marmaton Valley 2-6-7-7—22
Humboldt 4-10-22-18—54
Marmaton Valley (FG/3pt-FT-F-TP): Ensminger 2-1-4-5, Pinkerton 2-2-4-6, Stevenson 0-0-1-0, Storrer 1-0-2-2, Drake 2-1-2-5, Meiwes 1-2-3-4. TOTALS 8-6-16-22.
Humboldt (FG/3pt-FT-F-TP): Umholtz 4-0-1-8, Wells 3-1-1-7, McCall 1-0-0-2, Riebel 2-0-1-4, Hudlin 2-2-3-6, English 1-0-2-2, Whitcomb 2-0-2-4, Wilson 9-3-3-21. TOTALS: 24-6-13-54.
