KAHS bucket girls battle Wolves and Irish

By Pat Garry, Staff Writer

Kimball hosted the Milaca Wolves on Monday, Jan. 24, in a Section 6AA matchup. The Wolves (9-3) scored first and jumped out to an 8-3 lead, when sophomore Ava Molitor scored in the post, followed by a junior Ellie Kuechle lay-up. Junior Kristen Hilbert scored next for the Cubs and Kuechle scored the next 5 points to give Kimball its first lead at 14-12 midway through the first half. Milaca answered with 7 straight points until senior Madelyn Hunt stopped the run with a driving bucket of her own. Subsequently, junior Olivia Mortenson connected on a three-pointer to tie the game at 19-19. Milaca entered halftime with a slim 24-23 lead.

In the second half the lead changed hands five times, but Kimball led 49-42 after consecutive layups by Hunt and Kuechle. Milaca tied it at 49-49, but Hilbert scored again to make it 51-49, Cubs, with 4:50 to play. The Wolves answered, taking a 53-51 lead, but Mortenson scored with 2:39 to play, giving the Cubs a 54-53 lead. However in the final 1:13, Milaca took the lead and iced the game via the free-throw line, making 7 of 8 freebies to finish with a 62-56 win. (Notables: Milaca earned the free-throw advantage, making 20/23; while Kimball converted 10/21 attempts. Milaca’s Maggie Westling was nearly unstoppable, scoring 39 points (13/15 from the FT line).

Kimball stats

Madelyn Hunt, 10 points, 5 assists; Olivia Mortenson, 6 points, 4 steals; Allie Leither, 2 points; Ellie Kuechle, 18 points, 9 steals, 4 assists; Ava Molitor, 4 points, 5 rebounds, charge taken; Lexi Myers, 3 rebounds; Kristen Hilbert, 16 points, 4 rebounds.

Kimball welcomed in Maple Lake on Thursday, Jan. 27, for a CMC showdown. The Cubs came out with great pressure defense and led from start to finish. Junior Kristen Hilbert opened up the scoring, followed by a three-pointer from junior Ellie Kuechle. Kuechle scored 24 first-half points and made 6 of 7 three point attempts in the contest. Junior Olivia Mortenson scored on a steal and layup and put the Cubs up 9-2, three minutes into the game. Kimball dominated the first half, and the Cubs led 37-20 heading to the locker room.

Buckets by sophomore Ava Molitor and Brookelyn Kuechle gave Kimball a commanding 55-23 lead. A barrage of scoring by Madelyn Hunt,  Allie Leither, and Lexi Streit, pushed Kimball’s lead to 60-25 with 6:18 remaining. Junior Natalie Loehrer scored on a nice back-door cut, and junior Morgan Streit splashed a three-pointer to finish a well-played game and a 65-26 final score in the Cubs favor. (Notables: Kimball’s overall record moves to 14-3 and 7-1 in the CMC.)

Kimball stats

Madelyn Hunt, 1 pt, 6 assists, 3 steals; Brookelyn Kuechle, 7 pts, 1 steal, 1 assist; Olivia Mortenson, 4 pts, 3 steals; Allie Leither, 1 pt, 3 rebounds, charge taken; Ellie Kuechle, 29 pts, 9 steals, 3 assists; Anjellina Schindele, 1 rebound; Ava Molitor, 2 pts, 9 rebounds, 4 blocks; Emily Krohn, 1 rebound; Morgan Streit, 3 pts; Lexi Myers 1 pt, 6 rebounds, 2 assists; Natalie Loehrer, 2 pts, 1 rebound; Kristen Hilbert, 15 pts, 6 rebounds, 3 steals.

“We accomplished our main two goals tonight, which were cutting down on turnovers and dishing out a high level of defensive pressure. It was a great team effort,” said Coach Jeremy Kuechle.