There was a lot of confidence in the Humboldt Fieldhouse gym Tuesday night when the Lady Cubs took on Leon-Bluestem.
The Humboldt girls are coming off of a Pleasanton Blu-Jay Mid-Season Tournament title while the Lady Lions finished third in the Wilson County Classic and drubbed a very good Yates Center team 73-43 on Saturday to get there.
But despite the confidence, it would be the Lady Cubs defense that made the difference as they grabbed a 60-55 win over Bluestem. The win was their fourth-straight.
The first half was an absolute nightmare for the Lady Cubs.
After leading by just two after the first quarter, Humboldt slipped big-time allowing turnovers and cold shooting to strangle any offensive rhythm as the Lady Lions fought their way to a 10-point halftime lead.
A 17-7 run to start the third quarter tied it up at 37 with 3:11 to play in the quarter. With 36.7 seconds left, they took their first lead since early in the second quarter, 42-40.
The Lady Cubs continued to push and what was once a 10-point deficit turned into a 10-point lead early in the fourth quarter.
The Lady Lions made a final run at it, going on an 11-1 run to cut Humboldt’s lead to 56-55 with a minute left.
The Lady Cubs defense held on and hit four of six free throws down the stretch to ice the game and get the win.
Junior Winter Snyder had 17 points for Humboldt and was joined in double-figures by senior Rylan Wilhite who had 14 and junior Aricah McCall who had 11.
The Lady Cubs will travel to Erie on Friday to try and avenge their Dec. 8, 42-31 loss.
Humboldt (16-4-24-16—60) (2pt/3pt-FT-F-TP) Snyder 5/0-7-2-17, Wilhite 2/1-7-3-14, McCall 5/0-1-5-11, M. Johnson 2/1-0-1-7, K. Johnson 0/1-0-1-3, Mauk 1/0-0-3-2, Myers 1/0-0-1-2, A. Johnson 1/0-0-0-2, Puckett 1/0-0-3-2. TOTALS: 18/3-15-19-60.
Leon-Bluestem (12-18-10-15—55) (2pt/3pt-FT-F-TP) Emmons 8/0-4-5-20, Bevan 2/4-2-3-18, Elevenger 1/1-3-1-8, Lovesee 0/1-0-4-3, Fisher 1/0-1-3-3, Standfast 1/0-0-3-2, Beavers 0/0-1-3-1. TOTALS: 13/6-11-20-55.
PICTURE — Senior guard Rylan Wilhite makes her way around a defender in Humboldt’s 60-55 win over Leon-Bluestem on Tuesday. REGISTER/TIMOTHY EVERSON
