HUMBOLDT — It wasn’t a work of art by any means.
But a win is a win, especially this time of year, which is pretty enough for Humboldt High’s Lady Cubs.
Humboldt took the early advantage with a key 12-0 run over visiting Fredonia, and then withstood a tough night at the free throw line to bring home a 44-33 victory on Senior Night.
The win lifts Humboldt to 11-8 and essentially cements the fourth seed in the upcoming Class 3A Sub-State Tournament. The Lady Cubs will wrap up the regular season Tuesday at Yates Center. The postseason begins the weekend of Feb. 26.
“We’re not going to take anybody lightly,” Humboldt head coach Aubrey Jones said. “We’re gonna use this last game and try to work on things we need to fix.”
Thursday’s win was keyed by some hot early shooting, and a series of defensive stops in the second and fourth quarters.
The game was knotted at 8-8 before Humboldt rattled off 12 straight points, including 3-pointers from Skylar Hottenstein, Chanlynn Wrestler and Laney Hull. Wrestler’s bucket from just inside the 3-point line late in the half made it 23-10.
But Fredonia responded with a 10-0 run of its own — made possible by a cold night shooting at the line for Humboldt — to make things interesting in the second half.
Humboldt shot a cool 4 of 11 from the line the third quarter, and an even cooler 4 of 12 in the final eight minutes.
“Sometimes these girls are their own worst enemy,” Jones said. “They let things like this get in their head. If they hit or miss their first shot, that sometimes affects how their attitudes go.”
But even with the free throw struggles, Humboldt was stifling on defense,
Fredonia scored the first six points of the fourth quarter to pull within 30-26 before Humboldt’s Jo Ellison got free inside for a bucket. Shelby Shauhgnessy added a free throw to make it 33-26 with just under 5 minutes left.
The lead stood at four, 37-33, after Fredonia’s Zoey Sims drilled a 3-pointer with just over 2 minutes left.
But Humboldt easily broke Fredonia’s press, leading to Joe Ellison’s layup.
Kenisyn Hottenstein ended the Yellowjackets’ next possession with a steal for the Lady Cubs. Shelby Shaughnessy and Laney Hull each went 1 of 2 from the line on the Lady Cubs’ next two possessions, before Skylar Hottenstein put in the final nail in the form of a steal and layup to push Humboldt’s lead back into double digits.