HUMBOLDT — Cub girls’ basketball coach Aubrey Jones came into the season with an advantage that almost no one in the state can match. The Cubs returned their entire team from a year ago.
The Cubs were able to use that comfort that they have in one another to their advantage on Tuesday night in the first round of the Emprise Bank Basketball Tournament at Humboldt Fieldhouse against Uniontown.
The Eagles seemed like they could pose a threat to the Cubs. They were 1-0 on the season with a win over Marmaton Valley last week and feature future-Allen Red Devil volleyball player Holly Shinn as a dangerous forward, but the Cubs were clicking on all cylinders and when they are doing that, few teams can match them.
“Uniontown is a good team,” Jones said. “They are going to have a very good season. We just came out on top in this one.”
Humboldt rolled to a 62-21 victory.
The Eagles actually led after the game’s first possession 2-0, but the Cubs quickly made sure that was forgotten.
Humboldt went on a 20-0 run to immediately blow the game wide open.
“We really were able to find our rhythm,” Humboldt senior Annalise Whitcomb said. “It made me feel good, knowing that this is what we can do. Now we are ready to show people what we are made of.”
One of the more spectacular things about the Cubs’ opening spurt was that returning All-State selection Makaylah McCall didn’t account for a single point during the initial run.
“Sometimes I yell at Makaylah for passing too much,” Jones said. “What is nice is that you can’t key on just one player and any of them are capable of having a big night on any given night.”
The Cubs are focused on winning as a team this season and they have confidence in their entire roster to be able to play well if they need them.
Humboldt had eight players score against Uniontown and four of those were able to score nine or more points.
Whitcomb led the Cubs with 18 points.
“I was feeling pretty good,” Whitcomb said. “I couldn’t really miss a shot and my teammates were doing a great job of looking inside for me.”
McCall was right behind her classmate with 16 points.
“Anna and I have been playing ball together since we were little, so we always have that high-low action,” McCall said. “That works great against teams in a zone.”
Makaylah’s sister Aricah McCall added 11 points and Tilar Wells had nine, including a pair of three pointers during the 20-0 onslaught.
UP NEXT
The Cubs will face off with Crest on Thursday in their second game of the round-robin tournament. Crest lost to Erie 42-32 on Tuesday.
BOX SCORE
Humboldt 62,
Uniontown 21
Humboldt 22 10 10 20 – 62
Uniontown 4 4 9 4 – 21
Humboldt (2-0)
Aricah McCall 11, Tilar Wells 9, Lizzie Myers 2, Makaylah McCall 16, Rylan Wilhite 2, Kaylie Johnson 2, Annalise Whitcomb 18, Maggie Johnson 2.
Uniontown (1-1)
Keely Goodridge 5, Bre Hampton 2, Holly SHinn 2, Shalina Harper 12..
