The Cubs lost to Eden Valley-Watkins, 60-32, last Tuesday, Jan. 17. But they rebounded nicely on Thursday, beating Maple Lake 54-45.
(EV-W Game) Kimball and EV-W faced off as the only undefeated teams left in the CMC. The Cubs jumped out to a 12-5 lead in the first six minutes, in an effort to control the tempo. The Eagles?Äô full-court press created some takeaways and EV-W took the lead 20-18 with 3:27 left in the half. They entered intermission on a 16-5 run, taking a 32-21 advantage. In the second half, the Eagles maintained the relentless defense, and Kimball was unable to crack the pressure. ?ÄúWe faced a good team that gave us all we could handle tonight. We did a lot of good things early on in the game, but mentally we must stay calm and handle pressure better. Unfortunately, I didn?Äôt think we did that very well as the game progressed,?Äù said Coach Jeremy Kuechle. Cubs?Äô Scoring: Kenzie Leither 3; Madison Hurrle 5; Ashley Schindele 3; Katie Merchant 5; Caitlin O?ÄôBrien 10; Erin O?ÄôBrien 6.
(Maple Lake Game) Kimball faced Maple Lake (7-5 overall and 4-2 CMC) at home, looking to bounce back from their first
conference loss two nights earlier. The Cubs started with energy and a lot of heart as they jumped out 9-0 and pushed their lead to 19-5 at the 5:58 mark of the first half. Kimball struck from inside and outside as Katie Merchant lead the first half scoring in the post with 8 points and Ashley Schindele drained two 3-pointers to spark the perimeter attack. The Irish fought back and cut the Cubs?Äô lead to single digits in the second half. Kimball lead 36-30 with seven minutes remaining before building their lead back to 50-36 with 2:30 left in the game; and that would be the end of the Irish. Cubs?Äô Scoring: Kenzie Leither 3; Madison Hurrle 16; Ashley Schindele 8; Alexa Ruehle 3; Katie Merchant 11; Caitlin O?ÄôBrien 8; Erin O?ÄôBrien 5. The win puts the Cubs?Äô record at 13-2 (6-1 CMC).
Kimball?Äôs Kenzie Leither, #11 junior guard, drives the baseline during the conference win over Maple Lake Thursday, Jan. 19. Staff photo by Marguerite Laabs.