Cuba High School’s girl’s basketball team competed in the Kingston/West County Tournament beginning on Dec. 29 with a matchup against West County.

The Lady Wildcats were seeded fourth out of 12 teams and had a first-round bye. Cuba defeated West County, before falling to North County and Bismarck to take fourth place in the tournament. This was the first time the Lady Wildcats have lost two games in a row this season, but still boast a strong 9-3 record moving forward. Cuba hosted Vienna on Jan. 6, which will be detailed in next week’s edition. The Lady Cats will then host New Haven on Jan. 8 before traveling to Viburnum on Jan. 12. 

Dec. 29 vs. West County

The Lady Wildcats had 10 days off before returning to action on Dec. 29 to compete in the Kingston/West County Tournament against West County.

Cuba came into the game with a 8-1 record and showed no ill effects from the time off during the holidays. The Lady Wildcats started the game on a 9-2 run and never trailed. Cuba led 20-8 after the first quarter before West County attempted a comeback. West County made it a 24-15 game in the second quarter before Cuba responded with a 7-0 at the end of the frame to make it a 31-15 game heading into halftime. The Lady Wildcats didn’t let up and led 42-23 after three quarters before widening its lead in the fourth quarter to pull away with a 57-31 victory.

Cuba dominated West County on the glass, out rebounding the Lady Bulldogs 47-23. The Lady Wildcats grabbed 22 offensive rebounds leading to 11 second-chance points. Jaylen Haffer continued her strong season with another double-double performance as she finished with 13 points, 14 rebounds, three assists and four steals. Leah Schmidt led the Lady Wildcats with 20 points, snagged a season-high nine rebounds, dished out four assists and swiped four steals. Mya Garbo scored 13 points, grabbed four rebounds, made three assists and had one steal. Freshman Addison McGinnis played her best all around game of the season, finishing one point shy of a double-double with nine points, 11 rebounds and three assists. Brooklyn Tate scored two points, grabbed seven rebounds and dished out three assists.

Dec. 30 vs. North County

The Lady Wildcats started the game against North County with a 10-7 lead after the first quarter. But that would be the last time Cuba would, as North County outscored the Lady Cats 19-7 in the second quarter and never looked back. Cuba scored just six points in the third quarter as North County pulled away to lead 37-24 after the third quarter. The Lady Cats doubled their offensive output in the fourth quarter to score twelve in the frame, but it wasn’t enough to comeback as North County emerged with a 47-35 victory. Cuba shot just 3-for-21 from three-point land and struggled to score throughout the game. After out rebounding West County by a significant margin, the Lady Cats were out rebounded 34-22 by North County.

Haffer was Cuba’s only double digit scorer and continued to stuff the stat sheet, finishing with 15 points, seven rebounds, six steals, two assists and a blocked shot. Garbo added eight points, Schmidt chipped in six, Annica Farris drained a three-pointer to finish with three points, Tate added two and McGinnis chipped in one to round out the scoring for the Lady Wildcats. Emma Roper poured in 24 points and Raegan Pierce added 15 points to lead North County.

Dec. 31 vs. Bismarck

The Lady Wildcats spent New Year’s Eve day competing for third place in the Kingston/West County Tournament against Bismarck. Cuba got out to a 12-9 lead after the first quarter, but just like against North County, the Lady Cats’ offense sputtered as the game went on. Bismarck outscored Cuba 13-5 in the second frame to take a 22-17 lead heading into halftime. Cuba scored just five points again in the third quarter as turnovers plagued them, leading to a 35-22 Bismarck lead heading into the fourth quarter. The Lady Wildcats started to find their offensive stroke in the fourth, but it was too late to comeback from the 13 point deficit, as Bismarck held on to win 42-36 to take third place in the tournament.

Cuba’s scoring was provided by its big three of Haffer, Schmidt and Garbo but didn’t receive a point from any other player. Haffer and Garbo each poured in 13 points and Schmidt knocked down a pair of treys and a couple shots from the paint to finish with 10 points.