Cuba High School’s girls’ basketball team picked up a victory over Licking in double overtime on Feb. 19 before winning by 15 points at home on Feb. 20 against Westminster Christian Academy. Both games are detailed below. The Lady Wildcats have won eight straight games and are now 20-5 for the season. Cuba played its last regular season game of the season at home on Feb. 24 versus Camdenton, which will be detailed in next week’s edition. 

Cuba is the number one seed in the Class 4 District 3 Tournament, which begins on March 2 at Cuba High School. The Lady Cats have a first round bye and will play the winner of four-seeded St. Clair and five-seeded Owensville on March 4 in the semifinals at 5:30 p.m. St. James is the number two seed and will play the winner of three-seeded Sullivan and six-seeded Salem. 

Feb. 19 vs. Licking

In a showdown between Wildcats, points were at a premium and neither team led by more than four points throughout the marathon matchup. Cuba led 9-5 after the first quarter and took a 20-17 lead into halftime. The black and gold maintained their three-point lead heading into the final frame, but Licking would not go away. Licking led 35-33 in the final minute when Annica Farris dove on a loose ball and secured a Cuba possession with 40 seconds left. After a timeout, Leah Schmidt drove into the teeth of Licking’s zone defense, split multiple defenders, and finished a basket in the paint to tie the game at 35. Neither team was able to score again, and the game headed to overtime. 

Licking took the lead multiple times in overtime and led by four points with 42 seconds left. Jaylen Haffer then drove along the baseline and found Farris, who was fouled, and calmly knocked down a pair of free throws to make it a two point game. In the ensuing possession, Farris poked the ball away from a Licking dribbler, and Mya Garbo scooped it up, attacked the basket and got fouled. She also hit both free throws to tie the game with 25 seconds left. Licking then was fouled and hit a pair of free throws to take a two point lead with 13 seconds left. After a timeout from head coach Evin Farris, Haffer hit a running floater from the free throw line to tie the game with five seconds left. Licking’s last second heave was no good, and the game went to double overtime. 

Both teams traded baskets in the double bonus period and the game remained neck-and-neck throughout. Licking knotted the game at 51 with 25 seconds left on a pair of free throws. Both teams then turned the ball over and Cuba got the ball back with less than 10 seconds left. Garbo was hacked and went to the free throw line with seven seconds left. She missed both free throws, but Haffer snared the offensive rebound and laid the ball in the basket to give Cuba a 53-51 lead. Farris swiped the Licking inbound pass and dribbled it out as Cuba escaped with a thrilling double overtime victory. 

Cuba made just 1-of-16 attempts from three-point land and shot less than 30 percent from the field. But the black and gold knocked down 24-of-31 free throw attempts and outrebounded Licking 36-23. 

Haffer tallied 17 points, 15 rebounds, three assists, five steals, and scored the baskets to send the game to double-overtime and the eventual game-winning bucket. Garbo netted 16 points, two rebounds and made eight deflections on defense. Schmidt scored 12 points, grabbed five rebounds and dished out two assists. Brooklyn Tate added six points, nine rebounds and two steals. Farris scored her two points on the clutch free throws, but helped swing the game for Cuba with her effort on defense. She made five deflections and made four steals as the glue that held the game together for the black and gold. Sophomore Hadlee Davis scored a game-high 22 points and added four rebounds and five assists for Licking. 

Feb. 20 vs. Westminster Christian Academy 

The Lady Cats returned home and took on more Wildcats, out of Westminster Christian Academy (WCA) in St. Louis. Cuba got out to a strong start on offense and netted 20 points in the opening quarter. The black and gold led 20-10 after the first frame and maintained its 10 point lead heading into halftime. WCA fought back in the third period and narrowed its deficit to seven points going into the final frame. But Cuba’s defense tightened in the fourth quarter and held WCA to just four fourth quarter points as the Lady Cats were able to pull away with a 52-37 victory for its 20th win of the season. 

Haffer continued to stuff the stat sheet and logged another double-double performance of 19 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists and four steals. Garbo scored 13 points, dished out five assists and had four steals. Schmidt added 11 points and four rebounds, Farris logged five points and three rebounds and Tate scored four and grabbed five boards. Senior Addi Drumm scored 15 points to lead WCA.