BBE
Trailing the Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa Jaguars 48-38 with 11:45 left in the game, the Cubs girls’ basketball team went on a 12-4 run to pull within two, at 52-50, with 6:54 left. During this run, the Cubs got contributions from numerous players. Jordyn Theis and Lily VonWahlde each hit a three-point basket, and Isabelle Schmitz and Lexi Schindele each a two-point basket.
In just under three minutes of play, the Jaguars went on an 8-0 spurt to push the Cubs’ deficit back to 10, at 60-50. The Cubs got no closer than five points the rest of the way in an eventual 61-55 home loss on Monday, Feb. 10.
This match-up was a battle for second place in the conference behind first-place and undefeated Royalton. The Cubs fell to the Jaguars on the road earlier this season, by a 62-52 final back on Dec. 10.
“We played much better than we did the first time we played them, and we certainly had our chances to win tonight,” Cubs head coach Jeremy Kuechle said via email, “but we still had a few too many turnovers to come away with a victory tonight.”
For the game, the Cubs committed 24 turnovers, too many for his team to overcome, coach Kuechle said.
The team did get what coach Kuechle referred to as a “remarkable” performance by Mazie Jurek. She finished with 31 points, six rebounds, and six blocks.
In the first half, Jurek found early success in the paint, scoring the team’s first 14 points, seeing her teammates continue to feed the post inside. Jordyn Theis broke Jurek’s scoring streak with a basket, before Jurek scored three more baskets, to help give the Cubs a 22-20 lead with 4:43 left in the first half.
The Cubs went into halftime with a 32-30 lead. The Jaguars scored the second half’s first six points before building its lead to 10. The Cubs never led again.
Besides Jurek, Hope Kuechle led the team in assists with eight, and Isabelle Schmitz chipped in six points and five rebounds to also pace the Cubs.
Upsala
The Cubs fell into an early 19-9 deficit seven minutes into its road game versus the Upsala Cardinals. During this run, coach Kuechle mentioned the Cardinals’ “torrid” start from three-point range, -making five of its first six three-point attempts, some from well beyond the arc.
The Cubs weathered the early storm to get back in the game. Then, leading 53-52 with under a minute to play, the Cubs made a play.
Saving the ball from going out of bounds, Isabelle Schmitz made a one-handed pass to the opposite corner. In that corner stood Hope Kuechle who hit a three-pointer to give the Cubs a 56-52 edge with 32 seconds left. The Cubs held on for the 57-52 road win on Tuesday, Feb. 11.
“This was a really good win for us on the road. We had to make some major adjustments during the game, and the girls really responded,” coach Kuechle said via email. “Upsala has some really good players and have been playing well of late, so for us to come here and escape with a win is fantastic.”
The Cubs weathered the Cardinals’ strong first-half three-point shooting thanks to their own strong three-point shooting. The Cubs got seven combined three-pointers between Holly Truenow, Lily VonWahlde, and Isabelle Schmitz to go into halftime trailing 36-31.
In the second half, the Cubs changed their defensive scheme, and opened the second half on a 6-0 run to take a 37-36 lead five minutes into it.
Finding some offense, the Cardinals responded with a 10-1 run, putting the Cubs in a 46-38 deficit.
Then the Cubs started to “take over the game,” coach Kuechle said. Mazie Jurek and Sami Winter took turns scoring inside, and Kuechle hit a kick-out three-pointer as part of a 9-0 run that gave the Cubs a 47-46 lead with 4:49 left, setting the stage for the tight finish.
Jurek led the Cubs with a double-double performance of 14 points and 15 rebounds, along with four blocks; Schmitz posted 11 points, six rebounds, and five assists; and Kuechle 11 points, seven assists, and two steals. Winter grabbed eight rebounds, and Lexi Schindele took two charges to also pace the Cubs.
Maple Lake
The Cubs wasted little time jumping out to a strong start versus the Maple Lake Irish, opening up a 12-0 lead three minutes into the game. Jordyn Theis began the run with consecutive three-pointers, and Hope Kuechle capped the run with a three-pointer.
Pushing the pace offensively and creating steals defensively, the Cubs opened up a 41-11 halftime lead and didn’t look back in a 73-37 conference home win on Thursday, Feb. 13, also Parents’ Night.
Head coach Jeremy Kuechle highlighted the strong energy on this night, beginning even before the varsity game.
“It started with our JV and C squad teams who seemed to light the candle, and from there the Varsity just kept adding wood to the fire,” coach Kuechle said via email. “It really made for a fun game where so many players had significant contributions to the team’s success.”
In that first half, Theis scored all nine of her points on three-pointers. She went on to -finish five of seven from beyond the arc, accounting for all of her team-high 15 points for the game.
Several Cubs players also succeeded from the three-point line: Lily VonWahlde sunk four three-pointers, Isabelle Schmitz three, Kuechle two, and Holly Truenow one. As a team, the Cubs finished 15 of 32 (47%) on three-pointers.
Speaking of Kuechle, she finished with 10 of the team’s 22 assists. She would break the Cubs’ single-season assist record on a pass to Schmitz for a three-pointer in the first half. This assist gave her 165, breaking the previous record of 164 held by Melanie (Marquardt) Knaus during the 2001-02 season.
The team kept finding the open player, coach Kuechle explained, leading to a strong shoot percentage. He added how his group had a balanced attack on the inside and outside.
As a team, the Cubs shot 49% from the floor, including 52% (11 of 21) on two-pointers. Nine different Cubs players scored in the win.
Besides Theis, VonWahlde and Schmitz also hit double figures with 13 points each. Kuechle nearly recorded a triple-double with nine points, 10 assists, and seven steals. Sami Winter posted seven points and seven rebounds, Lexi Schindele six points and 10 rebounds, and Mazie Jurek four points, nine rebounds, and five steals to also pace the Cubs.
The Cubs improved to 15-9 overall, and 8-5 in Central Minn-esota Conference play.
Next action
After hitting the road to play Holdingford on Feb. 18, the Cubs close out the regular season at home versus Melrose on Thursday, Feb. 20, also Senior Night.