CUBA –Cuba High School’s girl’s basketball team competed in the Orchard Farm Varsity Tournament in St. Charles on Dec. 15 where they lost their first game of the season in a matchup against Fort Zumwalt North (FZN). 

The Lady Wildcats came into the game 6-0 after wins against Richland, Newburg, Bayless, Villa Duchesne, St. James and Lesterville. Cuba’s winning streak came to an end after a heartbreaking 46-44 loss in overtime to FZN. The Lady Wildcats bounced back with a dominant victory over Wright City and followed it with a seven-point win over Fox High School to win the consolation finals of the bracket. Cuba is now 8-1 on the season. Mya Garbo was named to the All-Tournament team after averaging 17.6 points and 4.6 steals per game during tournament play. 

The Lady Wildcats will have over a week off before competing in the Kingston/West County Christmas Tournament. Cuba is seeded fourth and will play the winner of West County and Valley at 11:30 a.m. on Dec. 29 at West County High School. The rest of the tournament’s matchups and times are TBD on the outcome of the Dec. 29 game. Cuba will then host games against Vienna and New Haven on Jan. 6 and Jan. 8, respectively.   

Dec. 15 vs. FZN

The Lady Wildcats came into the game following a 75-9 obliteration on Dec. 12 over Lesterville. Cuba was in for a much tougher matchup against the 4-1 Lady Panthers in the first round of the Orchard Farm Tournament. The game was a tight, defensive battle throughout where each team committed 23 turnovers. FZN appeared to be in control of the game and led for the first three quarters. The Lady Panthers led 13-10 after the first quarter, 25-19 at halftime and 32-26 after the third quarter. But there was no quit in the Lady Wildcats who outscored FZN 14-8 in the fourth quarter to send the game into overtime. The overtime period was highly contested between the two fatigued teams, but Cuba was outscored six to four in the period to lose their first game of the season, 46-44. This was the first and only game of the season the Lady Cats had given up more than 40 points in a game. 

Cuba was led by its junior trio of stars Leah Schmidt, Jaylen Haffer and Mya Garbo. Schmidt scored 14 points, grabbed five rebounds, dished out four assists and had two steals. Haffer recorded her second double-double of the season, with 15 points, 10 rebounds and added eight steals. The only blemish in Haffer’s statline was nine turnovers. Garbo added 11 points, four rebounds and five steals but shot 0-for-8 from the three-point line in a game where points were at a premium. Annica Farris knocked down a three-pointer and Addison McGinnis hit a free throw while Brooklyn Tate went scoreless in 38 minutes of action. Cuba head coach Evin Farris went with a six-player rotation in the game while FZN played eight girls. 

FZN outrebounded Cuba 37-30 and dished out 13 assists compared to the seven from the Lady Wildcats. Jaylee Franklin led the Lady Panthers with 11 points. The Lady Cats had a day off before they returned to St. Charles to take on Wright City in the consolation portion of the bracket. 

Dec. 17 vs. Wright City

The Lady Wildcats seem to take their frustrations out on Wright City after losing their first game of the season to FZN in nailbiting overtime. Cuba got out to a 16-2 lead after the first quarter and never looked back. The Lady Wildcats found their rhythm in the second frame, outscoring Wright City 22-7 to take a commanding 40-9 lead into halftime. Wright City scored 10 points in the third quarter—more than their first half total—but it wasn’t enough to put a dent in the score as the Lady Cats’ offense didn’t let up. Cuba went on to earn a commanding 60-24 victory to earn a spot in the consolation finals of the tournament. 

The Lady Wildcats’ ferocious defense has been a staple throughout the season and continued in this matchup, as they forced 30 turnovers. Haffer was the top thief for Cuba, and finished with seven steals to go along with 10 points and eight rebounds. Garbo led the Lady Cats’ offense with 19 points, dished out three assists and swiped five steals. Schmidt continued her consistent play with 16 points, five assists and three steals. Farris scored a season-high nine points on a trio of three-balls. McGinnis scored two, grabbed a pair of rebounds and snagged a steal. Tate scored two points, grabbed three rebounds and swiped four steals. The Lady Cats had little time to celebrate and played the next evening in the consolation finals against Fox High School.

Dec. 18 vs. Fox

After a blowout win, the Lady Wildcats found themselves in a back-and-forth battle against Fox High School. The game was tied at six at the end of a defensive focused first quarter. Cuba then outscored Fox 11-4 in the second frame to take a 17-11 lead heading into halftime. Fox came out inspired in the third quarter and outscored the Lady Cats 16-7 to flip the momentum and the score to a 28-24 Fox lead heading into the fourth quarter. But Cuba didn’t flinch and regained its offensive rhythm to win the quarter 19-8 and come away with a 43-34 victory. 

The Lady Wildcats didn’t have its usual balanced attack in the scoring column and was led predominately by Garbo and Haffer. Garbo scored more than half of Cuba’s points, finishing with 23 points along with five rebounds, four steals and two assists on the way to making the All-Tournament Team. Haffer continued to do a little bit of everything for the Lady Cats and finished with 15 points, eight rebounds and eight steals. Schmidt scored three and Wells scored two as the only other scorers for Cuba. Izzy Frissell led Fox with 14 points. 

The Lady Wildcats continued to hang their hats on defense, forcing 28 turnovers, compared to 13 from Fox. Cuba scored 23 points off turnovers, compared to just seven from Fox, which proved to be the difference in the game. The Lady Cats have allowed just 30 points per game, as defense is clearly a calling card under head coach Evin Farris.