Behind what head coach Jeremy Kuechle referred to as poor shooting, the 11th-seeded Cubs fell into a 13-3 lead halfway through the first half of its opening playoff game versus the sixth-seeded Spectrum Sting. Fast forward to the closing minutes and the Cubs had an opportunity to win.
Trailing 50-43, back-to-back Cubs three-pointers – by Hope Kuechle and Jordyn Theis – cut the deficit to one, at 50-49. The Sting then made a couple of free throws. The Cubs’ game-tying three-pointer came up short in a 52-49 road loss in the opening round of the Section 6AA girls’ basketball tournament Thursday, Feb. 27.
It was a game that coach Kuechle felt was his team’s to win, but he thought his group played “valiantly.”
“We did a great job holding down their top two scorers, but they (the Sting) found some offense from some unlikely sources,” coach Kuechle said via email, “and we had a lot of good looks but it seemed like so many of our shots rattled in and out. We just couldn’t get to a point where we would take the lead and start cruising, but I am proud of our effort.”
After trailing 13-3 midway through the first half, the Cubs got back into the game via an 8-0 run over a two-minute stretch, including a Mazie Jurek inside shot and back-to-back three-pointers – by Kuechle and Isabelle Schmitz – to cut the deficit to two, at 13-11.
Later in that half, Theis hit a trio of three-point baskets and Jurek two more baskets inside to help the Cubs go into halftime trailing 25-24.
With the Cubs trailing by seven in the second half, Holly Truenow hit a three-pointer to pull the team back within four, at 39-35, with 9:51 remaining. Just over a minute and a half later, the Cubs cut the lead to one, at 41-40, with 8:16 remaining behind post baskets by Jurek and Sami Winter.
The Cubs still trailed late, but Lily VonWahlde connected on a three-pointer with six minutes remaining, cut the deficit to two, at 45-43. The Sting built its lead back to seven, at 50-43, setting the stage for the final minutes.
Offensively, the Cubs shot 28.5% from the floor, and shot frequently from three-point range, finishing 12 of 45 (27%). Theis and Jurek led the Cubs with 12 points each, and Jurek posted a double-double performance with a team-high 10 rebounds. VonWahlde posted nine points, and Kuechle eight points and a team-high four assists to also pace the Cubs.
With the loss, the Cubs finished the season with a 15-12 overall record and an 8-6 mark in the Central Minnesota Conference, finishing fourth in the eight-team conference. The team loses five seniors to graduation: Jordyn Theis, Lily VonWahlde, Sami Winter, Holly Truenow, and Isabelle Schmitz.