Lady Cubs Go 2-1 on road trip

Dassel-Cokato

The girls’ basketball team had three away games last week, with the first being against Dassel-Cokato, a class 3A opponent, in a tough non-conference matchup. Kimball started very strong, knowing they would have to play well to have a chance on the road. Building a 28-24 lead by halftime, and extending the lead to 48-36 with three minutes to play, the Cubs relied on their ball-control offense, forcing the Chargers to foul. Kimball scored their last 12 points of the game at the free-throw line to secure the win 56-49. Kimball’s scoring line leader was Megan Garding with 14 points, followed by Brooke Merten’s 10 points. Rachel Arnold and Natalie Stein each scored eight points, while Erin Dingmann and Mandy Wittenberg each scored seven points, and Shannon Donnay added two points. Garding led in rebounding with nine boards, Merten led in steals and assists with five each.

Holdingford

Next up, for the Cubs was an important CMC matchup in Holdingford. The Huskers came out hungry and jumped out to an early 16-8 lead, but the Cubs would fight on, and trail by only four points at the half 20-24. In the second half, the Cubs and Huskers would battle down to the end, but Kimball was never able to make a run to get control of the game, as Holdingford prevailed 56-50. Garding again led the scoring line with 17 points followed by Wittenberg with 12 points, Liz Kastanek eight points, Merten seven points, Dingmann three points, Donnay two points, and Stein one point. Kimball shot well, 51 percent on two-point field goals, but only connected on one of 10 three-point attempts and struggled from the free-throw line, making only seven of 18 attempts. These are two areas where the Cubs have shown improvement overall this season but failed them in this game. Wittenberg led in rebounds with 15, Merten led in steals with six, and Arnold led in assists with six.

Swanville

Friday, Feb. 4, Kimball would head back north to Swanville to finish the road trip the same way they started, with a nice performance and a win. Kimball jumped all over the Bulldogs, cruising to a 24-6 lead six minutes into the game, and finished the half leading 50-23. The Cubs played sharply in this game, committing only six turnovers, creating 23 steals, while shooting 61 percent (27-44) on two-point field goals, and 41 percent (9-22) on three-point field goals. The Lady Cubs closed out the game by winning with a final score of 86-38. Dingmann, Garding, and Wittenberg all scored 15 points for Kimball with Dingmann connecting on five three-point field goals. This ties a Kimball school record. Dingmann now shares a piece of Kimball history with four other Kimball record holders: Heidi Schwichtenberg, Kristi Bahn, Melanie Marquardt, and Tesslynn Callander, all tied with five three-pointers made in one game. Arnold scored 10 points for Kimball, Breanne Meierhofer nine, Merten seven, Sam Stuve six, Klarissa Eisenbraun five, Kayla Overland two, and Liz Kastanek two. Merten again led in assists and steals with five each, while Wittenberg grabbed 11 rebounds to lead in that category. This week’s action moves Kimball’s record to 10-8 on the season (5-4 CMC). Next week they travel to Howard Lake Friday, Feb. 11. Go Big Blue!