The Webster City Lynx basketball teams made the trip north and west on Friday night, as they took on a long-time North Central Conference rival in the Humboldt Wildcats. Webster City’s girls entered at 2-7 overall and 1-3 in conference play, while Webster City’s boys entered with an unblemished 5-0 record and 2-0 in conference play.
Mark Fisher’s squad would play their best half of basketball this season in the first half against their rivals, with Humboldt leading 12-9 at the end of the first quarter, and slightly extended to 30-24 at halftime. The 3rd quarter is where the Wildcats were able to pull away, outscoring the Lynx 18-7 in the frame to cruise to a 58-40 win. Chloe Andersen led Webster City with 13 points, including 3, three-pointers, while Morgan Mann had a game-high 21 points for Humboldt.
The boys game followed, with a showdown between a pair of undefeated teams with North Central Conference title implications as the Lynx faced off with the a Humboldt team ranked #4 in Class 3A. The first quarter proved to be a microcosm of things to come, with Webster City holding a 19-18 advantage at the end of the frame. Humboldt would claw back to take a 39-38 lead at halftime, but Webster City used a stout 3rd quarter to take a 59-55 lead. Both teams would trade blows in the 4th quarter, with the game ultimately tied at 70 with under 30 seconds to go. Senior guard Ty McKinney was fouled with 8 seconds remaining, and much like last season’s upset in Webster City, McKinney knocked down both free throws without drama to put the Lynx up 72-70. Humboldt’s Joshua Thurm would come down and draw a foul with 2 seconds left, making the first free throw, and following a Webster City timeout, left the second on short, as Ty McKinney chucked the ball straight in the air to let the final seconds tick away for Webster City’s 72-71 upset.
McKinney scored a game-high 22 points, which was also a season-high for the senior, Jamie Grossoehme scored 21 points for the Lynx as well. Humboldt sophomore Elliot Carlson led the Wildcats with 17 points.