ROCKWELL CITY – It was only 24 hours after a 47-point loss and the thought of “oh no, here we go again,” had to be bouncing off the brains of the Webster City players as they looked up at the scoreboard and saw zero points and seven fouls under their name just 2 minutes and 40 seconds into the contest Tuesday night.

But rather than tune out, the Lynx dug in. The result? Easily their best performance of the season.

WCHS spotted South Central Calhoun a 7-0 lead early on, but eventually found its footing and went on to take the non-conference clash, 54-49.

“It was a crazy start, but we just had to calm down and play our game,” WCHS senior center Kayla Miller said after she scored seven points and snagged six rebounds in the win. “It’s a really big win and we really needed it after (Monday’s 75-28 loss to second-ranked Pocahontas Area/Laurens-Marathon).”

Miller’s final two points were the biggest of the night.

A 13-0 WCHS run gave it an eight-point lead, 48-40, with 2:25 remaining. But South Central Calhoun (3-2) responded and eventually drew even at 49 on Jadyn Khommanvong’s third 3-pointer of the game with 40 ticks remaining.

But rather than wilt, the Lynx persevered.

After beating the Titans’ full court pressure, WCHS fed the ball to Miller, who calmly sank a 6-footer from the lane with 28 seconds remaining. A defensive stop was followed by two crucial free throws by Chelsey Wagoner for a 53-49 advantage with 14.2 left on the clock. Allie Flaws added a free throw for the final five-point margin.

“I actually didn’t know the game was tied,” Miller said of her go-ahead bucket. “I just knew it was an open shot. I knew it was close and we just needed it to finish it out.”

WCHS (2-2) received production from everybody that saw the court.

Cassidy Nerland cranked out a double-double – 12 points and 11 rebounds. Gabbi Hoversten splashed in a pair of 3’s and notched 10 points to go along with six boards and two steals; Flaws hit one bomb and also scored 10. Wagoner drained two deep shots and added nine points, five assists and two steals.

“I could care less who scores the points, but we had three girls in double figures and that doesn’t happen most of the time,” WCHS head coach Nicole Muhlenbruch said. “I was probably the most proud of that we would get down, but we never quit. The girls just kept fighting.”

Muhlenbruch stumbled onto something with Miller and Nerland on the floor at the same time. Nerland’s strength on the low post was pivotal throughout the tight contest.

“We’re calling Cassidy our garbage girl,” Muhlenbruch said. “Anything that comes around that basket, within reason, she’s going to get.”

Miller was also a fan of the move.

“It works well,” Miller said. “(Nerland) is really good at getting open down low and getting rebounds, and I prefer the elbow a lot.”

WCHS led 30-26 late in the first half, but back-to-back triples by Khommanvong gave the Titans a 32-30 halftime edge.

SCC eventually pushed the run to 9-0 before the Lynx responded and trimmed the deficit to 39-35 after three quarters.

An offensive rebound and bucket by Nerland ignited a 13-0 run by WCHS that included 3’s by Flaws and Hoversten.

Khommanvong led all scorers with 18 points and Maddie Jones chipped in 11 for the Titans, who cranked out eight 3-pointers.