HUMBOLDT — Humboldt High’s girls came up one point shy of a magical comeback Friday night.
The Lady Cubs trailed visiting Fredonia by 15 at the break and by 13 in the fourth quarter before ending the game with a 13-3 run.
But Carsyn Haviland’s three free throws with under a second left could only pull Humboldt to within a single point in a 41-40 defeat.
Humboldt’s fifth defeat in a row found a common recipe as earlier setbacks — turnovers and cool shooting, especially in the first half.
, Humboldt committed 14 turnovers in the first half as the Yellowjackets raced to a 25-10 lead at intermission.
“We had too many turnovers,” Lady Cub head coach Aubrey Jones said. “Unofficially, we had 27. You can’t win games like that.”
They almost did, courtesy of some key defensive pressure after intermission to spark the comeback.
Jessica Myers hit a pair of free throws to pull the Lady Cubs to within 38-29 before Winter Snyder scored Humboldt’s next seven points. Her basket with a minute left cut the gap to 40-36.
The Yellowjackets, who struggled mightily from the line all night, missed 5 of 6 in the final minute to give Humboldt a final shot.
But Fredonia’s Kelbe Edwards blocked a Myers shot with 15 seconds left, giving the Yellowjackets possession. Peyton Wood went 0-2 for the line before Carsyn Haviland hit 1 of 2 for the Lady Cubs with 5 seconds left.
Another Yellowjackets turnover gave the Lady Cubs the final possession. Haviland’s 3-pointer with three-tenths of a second fell short, but she was fouled in the attempt. She hit all three.
The Yellowjackets successfully inbounded the ball as the buzzer sounded.
Snyder led the way with 12 points. Dangerfield chipped in with nine and Myers six.
Macey Ivey scored 10 to lead Fredonia.
Box Score
Fredonia (7-18-8-8—41) (FG/3pt); Wood 1-1-5-3, Black 1-4-1-6, Ivey 1/1-5-2-10, Moya 1-0-2-2, Reddick 2-0-1-4, Hawley 3-1-3-7, Ostrosky 0-0-4-0, Edwards 4-1-3-9. TOTALS: 13/1-12-20-41.
Humboldt (5-5-10-20—40) (FG/3pt): Snyder 3/1-3-4-12, Murrow 1-2-3-4, Myers 3-0-1-6, Johnson 0-0-4-0, Dangerfield 4-1-4-9, Haviland 0-4-2-4, Wools 2-1-3-5. TOTALS: 13/1-11-22-40.
