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COUGAR KRYPTONITE

McKinney’s career-long tormenting of Manson-NW?Webster continues

WCHS guard Taylor McKinney (4) puts up a shot over Manson-Northwest Webster’s Briley Condon (23) on a drive to the basket during the second half on Tuesday in Manson. McKinney erupted for 29 points, the ninth 25-plus point performance of her career, in a 58-26 pasting of the Cougars. DFJ photo/Troy Banning

MANSON — It’s called a heat check, that moment when a player puts up an ill-advised shot just to see if it’s going to be one of those nights where the basket is as big as the ocean.

Taylor McKinney’s heat check came at the 7:10 mark of the second quarter against Manson-Northwest Webster Tuesday night. The Webster City senior already had 12 points, she’d missed just one shot, and when she took the ball at the top of the key from five feet beyond the 3-point arc she thought, why not?

Kersplash.

Yeah, it was going to be one of those McKinney goes crazy nights, something the Cougars had experienced before.

McKinney erupted for 29 points on an efficient 9 of 14 shooting — she was 4 of 5 from behind the arc, which included the heat check bomb from the parking lot — in a little over three quarters, as she directed the Lynx to a blowout 58-26 victory over the Cougars.

WCHS senior Kaylyn Anderson (32) scores over Manson-Northwest Webster’s Chloe Peterson (10) in transition on Tuesday. Anderson had four points in the Lynx 58-26 win. DFJ photo/Troy Banning

“I could tell in warmups it was going to be a good night because I was hitting every shot,” McKinney, who scored the game’s first eight points and had 20 in the first half, said.

It was the ninth time in McKinney’s career that she scored more than 25 points, and WCHS is 8-1 in those outburst performances. It was also the second time she torched the Cougars on their home floor; McKinney scored a then single-game school record 37 on the same hardwood in a 72-49 rout of Manson-Northwest Webster on Jan. 9, 2018.

“I don’t know what it is, I don’t know if it’s the background, or the gym, or what,” she said. “It’s got a good vibe to it.”

Or maybe it’s the opponent? In four career outings against the Cougars, McKinney averaged 25.8 points per game, the highest of any team she’s faced during her career.

WCHS (5-6) needed an easy-breezy type contest, which was essentially over after McKinney’s opening eight-point burst in the initial three minutes. The Lynx led 23-4 after the first quarter and built the cushion to 39-9 at the half.

WCHS guard Tatum Goings (2) takes the ball to the basket on the baseline against Manson-Northwest Webster on Tuesday in Manson. DFJ photo/Troy Banning

It was the Lynx largest victory of the season and the first time they went into the fourth quarter without experiencing some nail-biting nerves.

“You could just kind of tell there was a different mentality out there from everybody,” WCHS head coach Nicole Muhlenbruch said. “And when Taylor hit those first couple shots, everybody got confidence.”

McKinney opened the game with a 3-pointer from the right wing, and on the next possession she drove the lane and completed a three-point play. She relentlessly attacked the Cougars off the dribble and got to the line eight times. She knocked down seven.

“Teams always want to stop me outside the 3-point line, but I can also attack,” McKinney said. “I know I’ve got to try to get to the rim too.”

McKinney’s aggressiveness was infectious. Five WCHS players scored in the opening quarter — Leah Kasch ended the onslaught with a triple in the closing seconds — and seven scored in the game.

WCHS forward Grace Hoversten scores from the paint over Manson-Northwest Webster’s Bailey Kenyon (20) on Tuesday. DFJ photo/Troy Banning

Grace Hoversten pitched in 11 points and eight rebounds. She had her own “this really is our night” moment in the second quarter with a banked-in 3 from the wing that gave WCHS a 34-7 advantage.

Kasch finished with five points, Kaylyn Anderson and Jenna Miller both had four, and Morgan Gallentine pitched in three. Hoversten, Miller and Gallentine all had three steals, as the Lynx turned up the defensive intensity and collected 13 in all. They also had a season-low four turnovers.

After a rough stretch of five losses in six games, WCHS has now won two straight and put together five consecutive productive quarters. The Lynx outscored Iowa Falls-Alden 20-4 in the fourth period on Friday and then carried it over to Tuesday.

“I saw this in the fourth quarter against Iowa Falls and then they came in Monday and worked hard in practice,” Muhlenbruch said. “I asked the seniors, ‘How do you want to be remembered?’ (Monday’s) practice and (Tuesday’s game) are a good indication of what they want.”

Manson-Northwest Webster (1-10) received a team-high six points from Bailey Kenyon.

DFJ photo/Troy Banning

WCHS will look for its first three-game winning streak since the tail end of the 2018-19 season this evening when it hosts North Central Conference rival Humboldt at 6:15 p.m.

Originally scheduled for Friday, the game was moved to tonight due to the weather forecast.

Web City 58, Manson-NW Web 26

Tuesday at Manson

Webster City (5-6) — Tatum Goings 1 0-0 2, Taylor McKinney 9 7-8 29, Kelly Stoakes 0 0-0 0, Kayley Wibholm 0 0-0 0, Shelby Queen 0 0-0 0, Leah Kasch 2 0-0 5, Shaylee Gordon 0 0-0 0, Morgan Gallentine 1 1-2 3, Kaylyn Anderson 2 0-0 4, Grace Hoversten 5 0-2 11, Jenna Miller 1 2-4 4, Allie Carr 0 0-0 0, Adalie Schwandt 0 0-2 0. Totals: 21 10-18 58.

Manson-NW Webster (1-10) — Emma Wood 1 0-0 2, Jayne Wiese 0 0-0 0, Paige Condon 1 0-0 2, Chloe Peterson 0 0-0 0, Chloe Troshynski 1 2-3 4, Natalie Pearson 2 0-1 5, Bailey Kenyon 3 0-0 6, Briley Condon 0 0-0 0, Sarah Peters 1 1-2 3, Olivia Sturgis 2 0-0 4, Autumn Marsh 0 0-0 0. Totals: 11 3-6 26.

Web City 23 16 14 5 — 58

Man-NWW 4 5 11 6 — 26

3-point field goals — WC 6 (McKinney 4, Kasch, Hoversten); MAN 1 (Pearson). Rebounds — WC 16 (Hoversten 8, Schwandt 3). Steals — WC 11 (Hoversten 3, Miller 3, Gallentine 3). Assists — WC 5. Turnovers — WC 4. Team fouls — WC 11, MAN 16. Fouled out — none.

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