December 16, 2005 Vol. 34 Issue 6
Boys place fourth in Moran
Tournament
By Philip Vernon, sophomore
News Editor
Moran, Dec. 6, 8, and 9- Traveling to Moran
in order to participate in the Marmaton Valley Tournament that is held every
year, the varsity boys’ basketball team was able to land second place,
with wins over West Elk and Marmaton Valley.
The crew received their second loss of the season in the tournament last year
with a loss to Northeast-Arma by a score of 35-48. This year, the boys placed
fourth in the tournament.
The boys managed a win on December 6, over West Elk before the West Elk team
went on to capture first place in the tournament.
The team’s luck changed on December 8, when the boys suffered their
second loss of the season to Marmaton Valley by a score of 55-44. The team
led the Wildcats in both rebounds, 22-21, and in assists. The Cubs had six
assists while the Wildcats only had two.
Photo by Shaela Anderson
And then out of nowhere...
Rising above the Marmaton Valley Wildcats, junior Josh Honas goes in for the
shot during the Cubs varsity loss in tournament play, with a score of 55-44.
“Players on the team did not listen to our coaches very
well, and we did not have enough heart, but we played hard,” said Anthony
Sweeney, sr. “In the future, we really need to get our heads in the
game to give it 100 percent.”
On December 9, the team traveled to Moran once again to play it’s last
game of the tournament against Northeast-Arma. The Cubs received a disappointing
loss to the Vikings by a score of 48-34.
Cliff Adams, jr., led the Cubs against the Vikings with 12 points and one
steal. Next to Adams was Drue Barton, jr., who had 10 points and two offensive
rebounds of his own. Following Barton was sophomore Sam Norris, with six points
and one steal against Northeast-Arma.
“I do not think that we played to our full potential as a team or even
individually. I know that we could have played better against Northeast-Arma
and also throughout the entire tournament,” said Barton.
By the end of the tournament, both Norris and Josh Honas, jr., led the Cubs
in scoring with 51 points each. Tory Thomas, jr., came in third in the scoring
department with 32 points. Honas led the team in rebounds with 21 nine of
which were offensive rebounds.
The Cubs’ opponents were only able to outscore the them by a total of
210 to 203. Opponents also outnumbered the Cubs in field goal percentages,
54.1 percent to the Cubs’ 39 percent.
Varsity girls step it up, bring home second
By Melany Megenity, sophomore
Reporter
Moran, Dec. 6, 8, and 9- Taking home second
place from the Moran Tournament, the Lady Cubs went 2-1 in tournament play.
On December 6, playing the West Elk Patriots, the starting five were Mallory
Mueller, Kristin North, Cara Tilman, and Sarah Riebel, srs., and Michele Rickner,
jr.
“West Elk was one of the few weaker teams we played and they were struggling,
which sometimes affected us,” said Riebel. “But, we did the best
at staying strong in our own personal key points.”
Maegan Wall, sr., lead the team with 10 points and two free throws, while
Mueller and Riebel followed closely behind with six points each. Mueller led
with seven free throws and Riebel had three.
North, Tilman, and Kayla Owens, sr., had four points a piece, while Tilman
had three free throws and Owens had one. Angie Whitaker, jr., and Rickner,
attributed two points each. The girls ended the game with a win and a final
score of 54-36.
Photo by Adrienne Guiterrez
Shoot for two...
Kayla Owens, sr., puts up a two-point shot against a West Elk defender in
their 54-36 win
over the Patriots. The Lady Cubs went on to take second place in the Marmaton
Valley tournament. Their next game will be at home tonight against Burlington.
On the December 8, the girls turned around and lost 32-44 against
Marmaton Valley with the same starters as the game on Tuesday.
“As known, any team can always ‘play better,’ but I also
think that we played exceptionally well against Moran,” said Tilman.
“We shut Moran down, which was our top priority for defense and that
is what kept us in the ball game.”
Mueller led with six points and a single three pointer. North carried in six
points. Wall and Tilman, both had four points while Tilman had an additional
four free throws. Rickner had two points and Owens had one free throw.
Ending the last game of the Moran tournament against Northeast-Arma on December
9, the Lady Cubs took home a victory with a score of 46-31.
The same players started in this game as in the other two during the Moran
tournament.
“The biggest key was going in the locker room at half time and our coach
telling us to play our game not their’s,” said Wall. “During
the second half, we started putting some more points on the board and making
smarter decisions.”
The two leading scorers against the Northeast-Arma Vikings were North and
Wall each with 10 points and two free throws.
“I felt that it was a game that we definitely needed to win to prove
that we do not play down to other teams’ levels when we know we are
a much better team,” said North. “I feel we had some off moments,
but we came back and fixed them in the second half and won the game.”
Owens had four points and two free throws, while Mueller made a three point
shot and two free throws. Tilman and Riebel each had two points against the
Vikings, while Tilman had three free throws and Riebel had two.
Lady Cubs fall to Neodesha in opening game
By Robbie Ball, senior
Reporter
Neodesha, Dec. 2 – Although they put
forth a strong effort, the varsity Lady Cubs were handed a 36-56 loss by the
Neodesha Bluestreaks.
After a slow start, the Lady Cubs gained enough speed to get back into the
later in the game and play harder.
“We gave the ball up 17 times in the first half,” said Coach John
Johnson. “Enough said.”
The girls scored 36 points in the second half, which was 25 more than in the
first two quarters of the game.
“We played better in the second half and went hard the whole game,”
said Johnson. “Although we did not play as well as we had hoped, the
girls never quit trying.”
Leading scorer for the Lady Cubs was Mallory Mueller, sr., with 18 points.
Mueller picked up her leadership role, bringing in three steals for the team
against the Bluestreaks.
“It felt great, but scoring is not everything. We still have a lot of
work to do as individuals and as a team,” said Mueller.
Maegan Wall, sr., and Michele Rickner, jr., stepped up and tied in rebounds
with five.
“I think that our defense went good, though we could not set up our
offense,” said Wall. “That was our biggest problem. We need the
points on the board and when we do, then we win.”
“I think we need to slow it down and just play our game,” said
Rickner. “When this happens, no one can stop us!”
JV Cubs lose to Neodesha
By Anthony Sweeny, senior
Online Manager
Neodesha, Dec. 2 – Junior varsity started
out with a loss against the Neodesha Bluestreaks for the boys’ team,
with a final score of 32-50.
“With a loss to Neodesha, it made us realize what we had to work on
in practice, so when we played West Elk, we improved it from Neodesha,”
said Coach Brad Piley.
Photo by Katie Manbeck
Run the offense.
Freshman Josh Elder looks for a way around a Neodesha player. Both the varsity
and
junior varsity teams suffered losses to the ‘Streaks, with scores of
60-61 and 32-50, respectively.
The lead scorers for the Cubs were Zach Cole, so., with nine
points and Chas Willie, so., with eight points. Cole and Brent Frederick,
jr., only played two quarters each because they both suited up for varsity
play.
“I think we could have had better team leadership and heart on and off
the court, because that’s what a lot of teams lack,” said Josh
Elder, fr. “We need to not take quick shots and work the ball on offense
and work on better man-to-man defense.”
Last second efforts for Cubs come up short
By Derrick Onnen, senior
Reporter
Neodesha, Dec. 2 - The varsity Cubs started
their season with a disappointing loss in the last seconds of the game with
a score of 60-61 against the Neodesha Bluestreaks.
Sam Norris, so., led with 21 points and was closely followed by Tory Thomas,
jr., with 18.
“I think that this game was a heartbreaker and that we did not play
very well on defense,” said Norris. “But we did have some good
things happen on offense, so we will regroup and win games in the future.”
Juniors Josh Honas and Trey Zartman added in six points each.
“We found out that if we can play better team defense, then we will
win a lot of games,” said Zartman. “We also found out that in
order to play better overall, we need better team defense and post passing.”
Second place title goes to JV boys’
team
By Jesse Lundine, senior
Feature Co-editor
Moran, Dec. 5-9 - During the week of December
fifth through the ninth, the Humboldt boys’ junior varsity participated
in the Marmaton Valley Pre-Season Tournament pulling through with the second
place title.
Humboldt challenged Northeast Arma, West Elk, and Moran, defeating all but
the Northeast Arma Vikings. During the Cubs’ run in the tournament,
the scores were 68-66, 47-33, and 43-52 against West Elk, Moran, and Northeast
Arma, respectively.
Zach Cole, so., stepped up for the team with a leading score of 18 points
in both the Northeast Arma and Moran games.
“I think we played really well. I think we have improved a lot since
our last game, but hopefully will take first next year,” said Cole.
Setting the pace for the Cubs in the game against West Elk was Andrew Whitaker,
fr., with 18 points. Following closely behind was Thad Wells, fr., with 17
points, and Cole came in with 10 points.
“We continue to get better every game, because the younger kids are
starting to understand how to play high school basketball. I think in the
next couple of years, they will work very well as a team and accomplish a
lot,” said Brent Frederick, jr.
The junior varsity boys will hit the court for their own Humboldt junior varsity
boys’ tournament on January 7 and the return from winter break.
Ladies capture first at Moran
By Katie Hauser, junior
Opinion Editor
Moran, Dec. 6, 8, and 9 - Three days of basketball
gave the junior varsity Lady Cubs three victories in the Marmaton Valley Tournament.
Overall, the girls came in first.
“The girls played really well in the tournament,” said Sherri
Bagshaw, junior varsity Lady Cubs coach. “Their tenacious defense is
what allowed them to win the tournament. ‘Tenacious’ was our word
of the week in the huddle.”
Their first game was a narrow two point victory over West Elk on December
6. Adrienne Guiterrez, so., led the JV Lady Cubs in the 26-24 win. She scored
eight points, and went four for five on the free throw line. Deedra Barnett,
so., followed closely with seven points. She was the only player to score
in the fourth quarter.
Marmaton Valley was the second opponent on December 8. The JV Ladies put them
away handily, winning 25-14. The scoring was spread out, as nearly every player
scored. Guiterrez again led the team in scoring, this time with five. Deedra
Barnett and Kelci Owens, fr., followed with four each. Randi Barnett, fr.,
was the only player to make a three in the game.
The third and final game was played against Northeast Arma on December 9.
The game was the JV Lady Cubs highest-scoring game, as they won 32-29. Sarah
Works, so., led the team with eight points. Terra Woods, so., followed with
seven points. Deedra Barnett made the only three in the game.
“We could have played better, but I am glad we won the game,”
said Jenell Baker, so.
The team will be in action again tonight against Burlington. They will bring
a 3-1 record to the match.
Streaks hand loss to JV
By Shawna Dawson, senior
Reporter
Neodesha, Dec. 2 - In a very close game against
the Neodesha Bluestreaks, the girls junior varsity team lost with score of
25-26.
“I think we did a good job playing as a team. We were down by 14 in
the fourth quarter and ended up only losing by one point. It was a good effort,”
said Deedra Barnett, so.
The starting five were Barnett, Jenell Baker, Sarah Works, and Terra Woods,
sos., along with Kelci Owens, fr.
“We gave them too big of a lead early in the game, but we worked hard
in the second half which allowed us to get back into it. I think that will
show what our team is made of,” said junior varsity coach Sherri Bagshaw.
The leading scorer on the team was Adrienne Guiterrez, so., with six points
and two free throws. Following close behind were Baker, Woods, and Owens with
four points. Works had one free throw, while Barnett and Callie Umholtz, fr.,
both had two points each.
“I think we did pretty well, even though at times we started to lose
it,” said Umholtz. “But we came back and lost by one point. So
all in all, we did not do so bad.”
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