Lady Cardinals end season with two wins

WAITSBURG ­- The Waitsburg middle school girls' basketball team lost their last home game against Rogers on February 19, then finished the season with two wins on the road as they beat DeSales and Liberty Christian of Richland.

"Against Rogers, the girls had a lot of shots that did not go through the hoop in the first half of the game," said Coach Karen Huwe. "We played pretty evenly with them in the second half but could not close the gap from the first half."

Kayla Kuykendall scored four points in the 35-11 loss and had five steals. Kaitlyn Paul, Audrey Kiefel, and Mady Potter scored two points each. Jaylynn Gleason hit a free throw for one point.

Laila Long pulled down six rebounds, and the Cardinals achieved their goal of getting more rebounds than the Chargers.

It was another tough battle at DeSales on Monday, February 24. The Cardinals had a slim 10-9 lead at halftime, held the Irish scoreless in the third quarter, and then held off an Irish run in the fourth quarter to win 21-19.

Paul scored nine points and had six steals in the win. Kiefel scored eight points, rebounded six, and had three steals. Kuykendall scored three and Tanna Ray added one point. Long contributed with five rebounds.

Liberty Christian of Richland beat Waitsburg at home in January 35-21.  The Cardinals won the game on the Patriot's floor 27-19 on Wednesday, February 26.

"The girls were hitting their shots and took a 10-2 lead after one quarter. The Cardinals have improved on defense, and that made a difference in this game compared to the first game of the season," said Coach Huwe.

Paul again led the team in scoring with nine points, a personal best seven rebounds, and three steals. Kuykendall had eight points, five steals, and three assists. Kiefel scored six and had three steals. Long and Potter scored two points each.