Earning their first KJCCC win on Monday, the Labette Cardinals women took down the Highland Scotties, 86-81, at home.
Labette then lost on the road to Fort Scott, 64-59, on Wednesday to wrap up the first half of conference play.
Against Highland, the Cardinals trailed by as much as 14 in the first half.
“What I took away from this game is that my team aren’t punks,” Labette head coach Gabby Cortez said. “It was a hard-fought battle. Sometimes we beat ourselves. But they can listen to coaching and turn the page.”
Highland was red-hot from deep in the first two quarters, connecting on 8-of-16 treys.
“That wasn’t anything I expected on the scouting report,” Cortez said. “They shoot 25% as a team from three, so we played a lot of zone in the first half. Everybody gets lucky and teams get hot. So we made the adjustment at halftime to go man. It slowed them down a bit.”
The Scotties finished the game 14-of-31 on 3-pointers. Brittany Jones led the Scotties with 26 points.
“We finally played defense and got their arms out,” Cortez said. “They had a little pep in their step. We were flat in the first half. When Highland was hitting everything, it looked like we weren’t playing hard. So we came out with some urgency.”
Ahmani Klabunde led the Cardinals with 22 points on 7-of-18 shooting to go along with a perfect 6-of-6 at the foul line.
“She can score at will,” Cortez said. “I told her at halftime that this game was hers. Nobody can guard her because she’s so good with the ball. When she has that change-ofspeed and motor, she can get whatever she wants.”
Aubreyanna Yelverton posted a double-double against Highland with 12 boards and 10 points.
“She’s the most valuable person on the court,” Cortez said. “She’s had a lot of double- doubles. She’s averaging 11 and 11 in conference. She’s a key part for us. She’s a long wing that does everything right. I appreciate her effort tonight.”
Against Fort Scott on Wednesday, Labette trailed by 11 at halftime before narrowing the deficit to three going into the final stanza.
Najya O’Neal led the Cardinals with 23 points on 8-of-13 shooting off the bench, including 3-of-5 from deep. Klabunde added 19 points.
Fort Scott was paced by Ashlee Poolaw, who had 23 points.
The two games moved Labette to 3-13 overall and 1-5 in KJCCC play. The Cardinals played with six players on Monday before Mattea Henry’s return from injury gave Labette seven bodies on Wednesday.
“We’re focusing on recovery,” Cortez said. “We have to be ready mentally.”
Up next
Labette heads to Chanute on Saturday to take on Neosho County.
