The Kimball girls played their final regular-season home game against Royalton on Friday,
Feb. 17.
Celebrating senior night, seniors Hallie Arnold, Ava Dahlinger (team manager), Kristen Hilbert, Emily Krohn, Ellie Kuechle, Olivia Mortenson, Lexi Myers, Emma Schmitz, Morgan Streit, and Sila Özbayak (foreign exchange student) were all acknowledged in the pre-game festivities. With senior night emotions maybe running a little high early, the Lady Cubs started a tad sluggishly, and they found themselves trailing 33-16, at half-time.
In the second half, the Royals scored the first two field goals and extended their lead to 22 points at 38-16. Kimball’s Ellie -Kuechle and Kristen Hilbert found some offense in the paint and at the free-throw line, and Kimball trailed 40-23, with 12:34 to play. Another Royalton three-pointer, their ninth of the contest, put the lead at 43-23, with 10:43 to play. A little spark by Brookelyn Kuechle’s three-pointer started something magical. Ellie Kuechle dropped two consecutive three-pointers, followed by an “and-one” field goal free-throw by Kristen -Hilbert, giving the Cubs 12 straight points in a couple of minutes, and cutting the lead to 43-35 with 7:40 remaining. Royalton drilled a field goal to make it 45-35, when -Kimball took advantage of a technical foul by the Royalton coach. Ellie Kuechle made both free-throws and another bucket, and Royalton’s lead was trimmed to 45-39 with 5:27 still to play. Kimball had finally cracked the tough -Royalton 2-3 match-up zone defense and gained some confidence, as the Kimball crowd started getting into the fun and growing louder. Royalton was able to make two free-throws to push their lead to eight, when Allie Leither made a sneaky play on an inbounds play and scored, making it 47-41 with just under 3 minutes left. The local faithful chanted “defense,” and the atmosphere in the gym escalated to its highest level when Ellie Kuechle scored, attacking the rim in transition, and making the score 47-43 with 2:37 left on the clock. Kimball got a stop and went inside to Hilbert, where she scored with 1:52 left, making it a two-point game at 47-45, Royals. With just under a minute remaining, the Cubs needed a defensive stop. Hallie Arnold stole a Royals’ pass and raced in for a layup, only to be fouled hard, but Arnold peeled herself off the floor and made 1-of-2 free throws, to make it 47-46, Royals. On the next possession, Kimball fouled a targeted player and took a timeout to ice the shooter. The strategy paid off as the free-throw was missed. Hilbert was fouled on the next possession and, with 44 seconds left, (pardon the cliché) you could have heard a pin drop in Kimball’s house as Hilbert calmly sunk both free-throws to give Kimball its first lead of the game at 48-47. Kimball held the momentum with another defensive stop and, with 10 seconds left, Royalton fouled Ellie Kuechle who made both free-throws. A long, desperate three-point heave by Royalton came up well short as Kimball completed a 22-point come-back, winning 50-47 in one of the most exciting games ever witnessed.
Kimball ended the game on a 27-4 scoring run in the final 10 minutes. The improbable, but not impossible, come-back made for a memorable and extra-special Senior Night in Kimball.
The win puts the Cubs record at 16-8 for the season with next week being the final week of the regular season as they finish on the road against Dassel-Cokato.
Kimball stats: Brookelyn Kuechle, 3 pts, 4 assists; Olivia Mortenson, 5 pts, 3 rebounds, 2 steals; Allie Leither, 2 pts, 2 rebounds; Ellie Kuechle, 22 pts, 5 assists, 5 steals; Hallie Arnold, 1 pt, 3 rebounds, 2 steals; Ava Molitor, 1 pt, 3 rebounds; Kristen Hilbert, 16 pts, 4 rebounds.
“I think this is why we play sports: because we never know when something so special and fun comes along. A game like this is one these girls will never forget! It’s another example of why you never give up, and you keep fighting one possession at a time. And when the tide starts to swing, you feel it happening, and you start to believe you’re unstoppable … and then the unthinkable happens, and it doesn’t even seem real. I’m not sure when it will actually sink in, but I am just so proud and happy for the girls right now… I can’t even put it into words!” offered an obviously exhilarated Coach Jeremy Kuechle.
(Great job, girls, and Coach K.) – the reporter.