HL-W-W game
Kimball played Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted, on Tuesday, Jan. 10. The Lakers connected on a three-pointer to take a 3-0 lead, but Kimball ripped off 15 straight points. It was a balanced scoring run, started by Kristen Hilbert in the post, a three-pointer by Ellie Kuechle, a field goal by Lexi Myers, and a field goal and free-throw by Hallie Arnold. Allie Leither made a nifty move inside to score next, was fouled and made the free-throw. That was followed by a steal and layup from E. Kuechle to make it 20-5, Cubs. Kristen Hilbert scored Kimball’s next two field goals and, a little later, Morgan Streit and Brookelyn Kuechle dropped back-to-back treys to push Kimball’s lead to 39-11, with 1:47 to play in the half.
Olivia Mortenson scored in transition to make it 45-16, three minutes into the second frame. Ava Molitor scored a put-back bucket, and Emma Schmitz scored consecutive field goals, one from behind the arc, to make it 61-23, Kimball, with 7:18 to play. Emily Krohn finished off the Cubs’ scoring with two field goals of her own as Kimball finished with a 65-30 victory. Kimball’s defense was too much for the Lakers to handle as Cubs’ players swiped 21 steals in the contest and forced numerous turnovers.
Kimball stats
Brookelyn Kuechle, 7 pts, 3 assists; Olivia Mortenson, 4 pts; Allie Leither, 3 pts; Ellie Kuechle, 15 pts, 10 steals, 6 assists; Hallie Arnold, 4 pts, 3 steals; Ava Molitor, 5 pts, 6 rebounds; Emily Krohn, 4 pts, 3 rebounds; Morgan Streit, 3 pts, 3 rebounds; Emma Schmitz, 5 pts, 4 rebounds; Kristen Hilbert, 13 pts, 4 rebounds; Sami Winter, 1 rebound.
“It was nice to have so many girls contribute to the victory tonight, and our effort was outstanding all the way around,” said Coach Jeremy Kuechle.
ACGC game
Kimball hosted Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City on Thursday, Jan. 12. The Falcons jumped up first with a 4-0 lead, but Kimball responded by scoring 11 straight points compliments of a three-pointer by Kristen Hilbert, two free-throws by Ellie Kuechle, another field goal by Hilbert, a layup by Brookelyn Kuechle, and two free-throws by Allie Leither. After ACGC scored their third field goal to make the score 11-6, the Cubs answered with another run, this time 12 straight points, as Olivia Mortenson connected on a three-pointer, Ava Molitor and Allie Leither nailed back-to-back post buckets, another three-ball by Mortenson, and free-throws by Hilbert and Leither. Kimball played solid defense in the process, leading 29-8 heading into the hiatus.
Ellie Kuechle scored 4 points in two Kimball possessions to push the lead to 36-12 early in the second half; and two more three-pointers by Mortenson, capped off by another Hilbert field goal, pushed the lead to 44-19, with 10 minutes to play. ACGC showed a lot of fight, however, and chipped away at Kimball’s lead, cutting the advantage to 46-29 with a few minutes remaining. Kimball held on for a 53-36 conference victory, largely in part of shooting 20-for-26 from the free-throw line (77%). Ellie Kuechle was 7-of-7 and Kristen Hilbert was 6-of-6, leading the free-throw advantage.
Kimball’s defense forced 25 Falcon turnovers in the contest. The win is the second of the week for the Cubs as they look forward to a busy three-game week on the horizon. The win moves Kimball’s record to 8-4 on the season.
Kimball stats
Brookelyn Kuechle, 4 pts; Olivia Mortenson, 13 pts, 2 steals; Allie Leither, 5 pts, 4 rebounds; Ellie Kuechle, 11 pts, 7 steals; Hallie Arnold, 4 assists, 2 steals; Ava Molitor, 3 pts, 8 rebounds; Lexi Myers, 2 rebounds, 2 blocks; Kristen Hilbert, 17 pts, 9 rebounds.