YATES CENTER — The Yates Center Wildcats picked up their first win while simultaneously downing local rival, the Liberty Home School Alliance Arrows, 43-23, Friday.
The Arrows put an early scare in the Wildcats, jumping out to a 14-8 lead by the end of the first quarter before Yates Center clamped down to hold them to just a pair of buckets in the second and third quarters to run away with the contest.
“We started playing a little harder defense, boxing out and rebounding,” Yates Center coach Eric Busteed said. “Once we started doing that, all of a sudden our shots started falling. Things started getting going once we got stops.”
The Arrows held sophomore guard Cayten Cummings to a single bucket in the first quarter. With only junior guard Kinley Morrison hitting paydirt on a 3-pointer and junior Jaylynn Birk with a bucket, the Wildcats needed a spark to shift the momentum. Cummings exploded in the second quarter with 14 of her team-leading 25 points.
“I was trying to get to the basket and finish my shots,” Cummings said. “It helps when you have good teammates to feed you the assist. It makes my job really easy.”
Jayda Rice had 6 points on three field goals but her work in scooping up rebounds translated to success on both sides of the court.
“At the beginning of the game, I was scared, but by the end of the game I was more confident,” Rice said. “We became more encouraged that we could win. We were ready to fight after the first half.”
Also for the Wildcats, Kinley Morrison had 5 points, including a 3-pointer in the first quarter, sophomore forward McKynzee Burkholder picked up 3 points the hard way with a bucket and a free throw while senior Aubrey Chambers and Birk had a bucket each.
With the win, the Wildcats improved to 1-5. They hope to become 2-5, and even their Three Rivers League record to 1-1 Jan. 6, when they host the Southeast Lady Lancers. Until then, they will rest up before Christmas and get back to the hardwood through New Years in hopes of turning around the young, but talented program.
“I told them in the locker room to continue to have confidence,” Busteed said. “I wouldn’t ask them to do something they can’t do. We might finally have started believing we can do these things. Confidence has been our problem. I keep preaching it, and it’s starting to sink in.”
