Improving Lady Cubs enjoy 2-1 week

The Kimball basketball girls are riding high, following a two-win, one-loss week recently. On ^–Monday, Jan. 8, the girls bested Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted, 61-26. Tuesday saw the Lady Cubs fall to an excellent Annandale club, 66-47. And, putting a cap on things, the Kimball girls toppled Paynesville, 66-40, finishing the successful week.

HLWW game

Allie Leither got Kimball on the board, 2-0, as Kimball started the game on a 14-0 run, which also highlighted field goals by Hope Kuechle, Mazie Jurek, and Brookelyn Kuechle. After the -Lakers finally scored, Sami Winter scored, then Hope Kuechle made a three, Mazie Jurek drilled a pair of buckets and, when Lily -VonWahlde drained a three-pointer, the Cubs led 26-7, with six minutes to play in the first half. Ava Molitor finished the first half with a basket, and Kimball led 40-10 at the half.

Jurek picked up where she left off, tallying the Cubs’ first three field goals in the second half, while Jordyn Theis popped a three-pointer to push the Kimball lead to 51-14 with 13:36 to play. -Isabelle Schmitz, Claire Hemmesch, and Brooklyn Molitor rounded out the scoring, as Kimball cruised to a 61-26 victory.

Kimball stats

Brookelyn Kuechle, 11 points, 4 assists; Hope Kuechle, 10 points, 4 steals, 4 assists; Claire Hemmesch, 3 points; Allie Leither, 5 points, 2 rebounds; Sami Winter, 3 points, 6 rebounds; Lily VonWahlde, 6 points, 1 steal; Ava Molitor, 1 point, 4 rebounds; Isabelle Schmitz, 1 point, 2 rebounds; Jordyn Theis, 3 points, 3 steals; Mazie Jurek, 16 points, 12 rebounds; Brooklyn Molitor, 2 points, 2 rebounds; Kiley Schindele, 1 steal.

“We played with great energy from start to finish and had a nice balanced attack, with three girls scoring in double figures, and everyone contributing to the team’s success,” said Coach Jeremy Kuechle.-

Annandale game

Sisters Brookelyn and Hope Kuechle got the Cubs’ first field goals, followed by Ava -Molitor scoring to put Kimball up 6-3 early. Allie Leither and Mazie Jurek scored and Kimball led 13-6, but the Cardinals tied the game at 14-14 with 7:31 to play in the first half. Next, Mazie Jurek started a Kimball run, scoring inside and, after a pair of treys by Ava Molitor and Brookelyn Kuechle, the Cubs led 25-15 with just over four minutes to play in the first half. The Cardinals caught fire and connected on five three-pointers in the final four minutes of the first half, erasing Kimball’s lead and sending the Cubs to a 32-30 deficit at halftime.

In the second half, the Cardinals slowly increased their lead to 11 points but, with just under 10 minutes to play, Mazie Jurek and Brookelyn Kuechle took turns scoring as Annandale’s lead diminished to only six points, 45-39, with 8:49 to play. Another three-pointer by B. Kuechle made it 47-42 and, when Sami Winter scored with six minutes to play, the Cubs trailed by seven, 51-44.  Kimball’s Achilles heel in the contest was converting at the free-throw line, converting only 9 of 22 attempts. Despite the Cubs’ efforts, the game’s final minutes tipped in the Cardinals’ favor as the Cubs fell victim on the road by a final score of 66-47.

Kimball stats

Brookelyn Kuechle, 18 points, 6 rebounds; Hope Kuechle, 3 points, 3 assists; Allie Leither, 2 points, 4 rebounds; Sami Winter, 4 points, 9 rebounds; Lily VonWahlde, 0 points, 1 rebound; Ava Molitor, 9 points, 7 rebounds; Mazie Jurek, 11 points, 7 rebounds.

“I was really pleased with our performance overall, as we accomplished a lot tonight, and we continue to work on improving each game. I don’t think the final score was indicative of how well we played, leading most of the first half; but we are starting to believe in ourselves more and more, no matter who we play,” Coach Kuechle added.

Paynesville game

Paynesville jumped out to a 4-0 lead when Allie Leither scored inside followed up with 2 of 2 free-throws by Brookelyn -Kuechle. Then a layup by Mazie Jurek, another driving score by Hope Kuechle, and two more free-throws by Jurek, the Cubs stormed back to take a 10-4 lead six minutes in. After the Bulldogs switched to a zone defense, Kimball’s Lily VonWahlde provided most of the offense, scoring 8 points in a three-minute stretch (2 via the three-point line), helping -Kimball build a 28-12 lead. Ava Molitor drained a three-pointer next, and a layup by Hope -Kuechle helped Kimball stay in front by a score of 35-23 at halftime. 

Allie -Leither scored first in frame two for -Kimball, with Mazie Jurek and Hope Kuechle converting field goals as those three finished with 12, 11, and 10 points, respectively, and led the Cubs’ offense. Isabelle Schmitz took her turn next, connecting on two-and three-point field goals and, after Sami -Winter scored on a wicked post move, the Cubs’ lead grew to 51-32 with 9:15 remaining. -Kimball finished strong as Jordyn Theis knocked down a mid-range jumper and Kiley Schindele scored twice in the paint, and Kimball finished off a well-played 66-40 victory. The win helped Kimball improve its overall record to 5-9, and 3-3 in the CMC.

Kimball stats

Brookelyn Kuechle, 4 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists; Hope Kuechle, 11 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists; Claire Hemmesch, 1 assist; Allie Leither, 10 points, 7 rebounds; Sami Winter, 7 points, 4 rebounds; Lily VonWahlde, 8 points; Ava Molitor, 3 points, 1 charge taken; Isabelle Schmitz, 5 points, 3 rebounds; Jordyn Theis, 2 points, 1 assist; Mazie Jurek, 12 points, 10 rebounds, 3 blocks; Brooklyn Molitor, 1 rebound; Kiley -Schindele, 4 points, 2 rebounds.

“It’s really fun to coach this team, as they have a burning desire to keep improving. Tonight, we played a team ahead of us in the standings, so our goal was to show everyone how much we have improved and play a complete game, start to finish. I give the girls a ton of credit for their efforts, as we hope to keep improving and building momentum into the second half of the season!” declared Coach Kuechle.