GIRLS
There was a moment around the five-minute mark in the fourth quarter of the girls’ Humboldt-Fredonia game when the Cubs might have wrested the momentum back to their advantage.
Humboldt was down 38-30. Cubs had the ball. Hard-charging point guard Riley Wilhite drove the lane, was hacked, went to the line, and pocketed two fresh points for her team. Score: 38-32 Fredonia. The Cubs then got a quick stop on the other end and barreled back down court, Wilhite at the point. Crossing midcourt, the senior found sharp-shooting junior Maggie Johnson, her feet set and hands in an expectant pose. The two have enacted this transaction a thousand times before. But, this time, Johnson was deep in three-point territory — really deep, much deeper than usual; still in Allen County, but certainly outside internet access. No matter. Although she’s expanded her menu of basketball skills since last season — adding an inside-out component and honing a quick first-step — her signature is still her precision shooting. Johnson had already deposited three three-pointers on the night. But she’d missed a few, too. But never by much; she never misses by much.
Anyway, at this point, true to form, Johnson sent up a shallow-arcing shot that barely cleared the rim, giving her her fourth three-pointer of the game, and putting Humboldt within a basket of the visiting Jackets.
It’s hard to say what happened next. The Cubs defense went a little gooey: they allowed Fredonia’s guards to drive the lane, and were slow to rotate when subjected to a series of crosscourt passes. And, on offense: they managed to get a couple of good looks — for instance, more than once during these tense final minutes, sophomore Winter Snyder fought hard to get great shooting position on the block — but they couldn’t capitalize.
It’s almost impossible to win when you have fewer points than the other team at the end of the game, and that was Humboldt’s problem Friday night. They weren’t outmatched against Fredonia, or outcoached; only outplayed.
The Yellow Jackets topped the Cubs 46-40.
Cubs head coach Aubrey Jones is loath to say anything negative about her players, and quite right — they’re a gritty, resolute, close-knit bunch. But asked to pinpoint the aspect of play upon which she’ll focus during next week’s practices, Jones was swift to answer: “Mental toughness. We’ll work on mental toughness.”
One is left to extrapolate, then, that the lack of mental toughness was at least one feature of the Cubs’ loss Friday night. “We just seemed a step behind on everything tonight,” said Jones, who did not forget to praise the Yellowjackets’ energetic efforts. “A step slow on both ends.”
In the points column, Maggie Johnson led her team with 14, Wilhite had 8, and sophomore Winter Snyder scored 9
It was for the last of these, though, that Jones reserved her praise. “I thought Winter had some great post moves tonight. She looked much more confident this game. She was full-on going at people tonight. We need that.”
BOYS
The Humboldt Cubs boys team led the Fredonia Yellow Jackets 18-6 at the end of the first quarter. They led the Yellow Jackets 35-17 going into the half. They led 56-31 after the third quarter. And they buried the Yellow Jackets by a score of 66-38 when all was said and done. But even that summary suggests a closer game than what actually transpired.
The contest was never in doubt. The Cubs are a bigger team, by far. And more athletic. They have better shooters, more aggressive rebounders. They’re in better shape. They have high-scoring junior, Tucker Hurst, whose strapping frame and scoring prowess around the basket on Friday made him appear a man among boys. And they have a coach, who, even when his team is up 20 or 30 points, refuses to relax his high expectations.
Asked to reflect on his big win Friday night, Cubs coach Dave Taylor, first pointed to the fissures. “We’re real big about playing well when we come out of the locker room at the start of the third quarter. And what did we have but two turnovers right away? So I was disappointed in that aspect.”
But then he softened. “Listen, I was really happy with how we were able to play. At times I thought we did a nice job of not dribbling too much but pushing the ball up court with passes. That’s how I like to see them play.”
The Cubs spread the points around. Hurst led all scorers with 21. Sophomore Conor Haviland added 19. Hesston Murrow had 10. Lance Daniels and Wyatt Seufert each scored 7.
Up 20 points with three minutes to go in the game, Coach Taylor’s engine couldn’t have been running any hotter if he’d been down 20. Why?
