ERIE — On a night filled with sterling play, Humboldt High’s Karley Wools showed why good defense wins games.
Wools blocked an Erie 3-pointer in the game’s final minute, leading to a Kierstyn Murrow layup, extending what had been a two-point lead to 38-34.
Wools then stole an inbounds pass with 27 seconds left and hit 1 of 2 free throws in what became a 40-38 victory in the opening round of the Class 2A Substate Tournament.
Humboldt, the host school, will take on top seed Uniontown at 8 p.m Friday in the Community Fieldhouse. The winner advances to Saturday’s Substate title game, with a shot at the state quarterfinals up for grabs.
Tuesday’s game wasn’t secure until Erie inexplicably eschewed a shot at a game-tying 3-point attempt in the waning seconds. The Red Devils’ Hailey McGown instead drove the lane for a two-point field goal that sliced Humboldt’s three-point lead to 39-38, but also gave Erie precious little time to try for another shot.
The Red Devils immediately fouled Carsyn Haviland who hit 1 of 2 charities with 1.9 seconds left. The Red Devils got off a final shot from three-quarters court, but it was well off the mark as the buzzer sounded.
The game was a defensive slug-fest from the start.
Humboldt didn’t allow an Erie field goal until nearly 5 minutes had elapsed, but the Red Devils were stingy in their own right, limiting Humboldt to an 8-6 first-quarter lead.
The Lady Cubs maintained their slim advantage through much of the first three quarters, briefly leading by as many as 10. Murrow banked in a 3-pointer, followed by a Jessica Myers field goal and two Murrow charities to push Humboldt ahead 26-16 with 2:39 left in the third.
But Erie’s Maddie Kramer ended the third with a bang, scoring three straight times to slice Humboldt’s lead to 26-22.
Skylar Clevenger picked up the scoring baton in the fourth quarter with four straight points, including two free throws that gave Erie a lead for the first time all night, 28-26, with 6:11 remaining.
Jada Dangerfield’s jumper with 2:39 left in the game marked Humboldt’s first field goal of the fourth quarter, and put the Lady Cubs up 33-29. Clevenger’s trey with 2 minutes left cut Humboldt’s lead to 33-32. Ryleigh Bryant’s shot with 1½ minutes remaining knotted the score at 34-34, but Dangerfield reclaimed the lead for Humbodlt with a pair of charities.
Humboldt then dodged a bullet with a minute remaining when it appeared Erie had scored after a scramble for the ball beneath the basket. But the bucket was disallowed because the Red Devil coach had called timeout before the shot was attempted.
That led to Wools’s critical steal that sealed the deal.
That the game went down to the wire was a surprise to exactly nobody.
The teams had split two previous games this season, both decided by two points. Erie won, 38-28, on Dec. 11; Humboldt prevailed, 39-37, on Jan. 29.
