Kimball (#1 seed) traveled to Sauk Rapids for a sub-section 5A semi-final round matchup against the Upsala (#5 seed) Cardinals Saturday, March 4.
The Cubs jumped out to an 11-3 lead and extended it to 27-10 with 6:24 remaining in the first half. Upsala answered with a run of its own, narrowing the deficit to 33-25 at halftime.
Kimball scored the first 10 points of the second half to push their lead to 43-25, and the final tally of 69-42 was enough to send the Cardinals to the showers.
Caitlin O?ÄôBrien led in the dish-out department with 7 assists, playing high-low in the post and finding inside-backside shooters against Upsala?Äôs 2-3-zone. Merchant grabbed 15 rebounds while both O?ÄôBrien sisters pulled down 9 rebounds each. Hurrle had 2 steals to lead the defense while also providing 4 assists. Abbey Schiefelbein made key contributions again on defense, and Alexa Ruehle offered great relief support to help the Cubs seal the game. The Cubs dominated the boards, out-rebounding the Cards, 48-20.
Kimball moves to 23-5 and they will have played in the sub-section finals Tuesday, March 7, vs. #2-seed Melrose by the time this goes to press. Results of that action will be reported next week.
?ÄúThis Upsala team can catch fire at times, and we really wanted to be disciplined defensively to make sure they wouldn?Äôt gain confidence on the offensive end. We responded well coming out of halftime after they made a little run at us, and that was the difference as we were able to open up a nice lead and take control,?Äù said Coach Jeremy Kuechle.
Cubs?Äô Scoring: Kenzie Leither 17; Madison Hurrle 14; Ashley Schindele 14; Katie Merchant 14; Caitlin O?ÄôBrien 3; Erin O?ÄôBrien 7.
Kimball senior Madi Hurrle goes in for a layup in the win over Upsala. Staff photo by Marguerite Laabs.