Lady Cubs’ hoopsters stymied by Crusaders

On Monday, Jan. 15, St. Cloud Cathedral jumped out to a 6-0 lead before Brookelyn Kuechle connected on a three-pointer. After Allie Leither knocked down consecutive three- and two-point field goals, the Cubs trailed 9-8, four minutes in. B. Kuechle hit another three-pointer, followed by field goals from Mazie Jurek and Sami Winter, giving the Cubs their first lead at 15-14. When B. Kuechle hit her third three-pointer, Kimball led 18-16, mid-way through the first half. St. Cloud Cathedral made a game-changing run, scoring the next 10 straight points and taking a 26-18 lead. Ava Molitor ended the run, getting to the free-throw line and making one of two. Isabelle Schmitz got to the line next, making a pair and cutting the lead to 28-21 into halftime.

Kimball struggled offensively for the first eight minutes of the first half and found themselves trailing 38-25 with 10 minutes left in the game. But the Cubs turned up the full-court defense and made a run at the Crusaders. Hope Kuechle first connected on a three-pointer, followed by B. Kuechle’s layup; and, after consecutive post finishes by Mazie Jurek and a steal and layup by Hope Kuechle, the Cubs trailed by just two, at 38-36 with 5:42 remaining. Allie Leither scored inside, followed by one of two free-throws by H. Kuechle, making it 44-40 with 2:29 to play. The Cubs continued their momentum, as they created opportunities down the stretch and had their chances. But when they were unable to convert on some late field goals, Kimball was forced to foul in the final minute, and the Crusaders held on for a 51-44 win.

Kimball stats

Brookelyn Kuechle, 11 points, 3 assists; Hope Kuechle 6 points, 5 assists; Allie Leither 12 points, 7 rebounds; Sami Winter 2 points, 5 rebounds; Lily VonWahlde, 2 rebounds; Ava Molitor, 3 points, 5 rebounds; Isabelle Schmitz, 2 points, 1 rebound; Mazie Jurek, 8 points, 8 rebounds, 4 steals; Jordyn Theis, late-game defensive role.

“It’s a tough game to lose, but we had a lot of fun coming back, getting the crowd in the game, and giving ourselves chances to steal one from a good team tonight. We missed on a few opportunities inside that we worked hard for, but the ball just wouldn’t go down. That, combined with a couple of less turnovers, we [could have won] this game … so we were right there,” said Coach Jeremy -Kuechle.