The Webster City senior couldn’t believe it was happening again. Head coach Nichole Muhlenbruch was experiencing the same frustrating déjà vu sitting just two seats down.

Three days after losing a six-point lead with just over three minutes remaining against 15th-ranked (Class 3A) Hampton-Dumont/CAL, the Lynx saw a 13-point fourth-quarter lead and another chance to crack into the win column evaporate against previously winless Algona inside the WCHS gymnasium.

Outscored 13-2 in the third quarter and trailing 35-22 entering the final period, Algona (1-6, 1-3 NCC) unfurled a 12-0 run to bust back into contention and eventually outscored WCHS (0-4, 0-2 NCC) 23-7 in the fourth to pull out a somewhat stunning 45-42 victory.

Twenty-two points through three quarters. Twenty-three in the fourth quarter alone. The final eight minutes didn’t sit well with Muhlenbruch, who watched her team go the last period with just one field goal — a Jenna Miller 3-pointer with 10 ticks left on the clock.

WCHS senior Jenna Miller lets a deep 3-pointer fly in the closing seconds against Algona on Friday. DFJ photo/Troy Banning

“We panicked,” Muhlenbruch said. “We didn’t take a breath, gather ourselves and do what we should do. We talked in the locker room afterward about how you’ve got to be mentally tough in the fourth quarter, but we weren’t enough to hold the lead.”

Algona ramped up the defensive intensity in the final stanza. Gone was the zone it had utilized previously and in its place was full-court man-to-man. It sped WCHS up and gave the Bulldogs energy at both ends of the floor.

Lillian Etherington scored 10 of her game-high 19 points in the fourth and it was her three-point play with 2:14 remaining that gave Algona its first lead of the contest, 41-39. She also knocked down 1 of 2 free throws with 7.9 seconds showing to extend the Bulldogs lead to 3. WCHS had one last gasp to force overtime, but Miller’s long 3 from the right side of the court only grazed the front of the rim.

Miller led WCHS with 16 points and eight rebounds. Kelly Stoakes poured in 12 points to go along with two assists, while Leah Kasch added nine points, three steals and two assists. But Trinity Griffith was the only other Lynx player to score; she finished with five points.

The Lynx played without starting guard Alley Odland, who remained in the concussion protocol following a collision with teammate Livia Kasch on Tuesday. Shelby Queen, Fallon Casey and Griffith gobbled up the minutes.

WCHS guard Kelly Stoakes fights her way to the basket against Algona on Friday in Webster City. DFJ photo/Troy Banning

WCHS led by as many as 10 points in the opening half before a 10-2 run by Algona closed the gap to two, 22-20, at the break. The Lynx answered immediately in the third, as Leah Kasch drove the lane and whipped a pass to Stoakes in the corner for a 3. It ignited the 11-point surge that gave WCHS the sizable cushion.

Algona scored a total of seven points in the first and third quarters, and 38 in the second and fourth. Muhlenbruch says her team will lean on what it did well defensively and learn from yet another hard lesson.

“I thought our defense was strong in the first three quarters, but we had some lapses in the fourth and everything changed,” she said. “But this is still a team that’s learning. I knew it was going to be a year where I was going to have to play kids that didn’t have varsity experience, and the only way to learn is out on that court.”

WCHS will have a few weeks to recover and grow. It will return following the holiday break on Monday, Jan. 4, against St. Edmond.

Algona 45, Webster City 42

DFJ photo/Troy Banning

Friday at Webster City

Algona (1-6, 1-3 NCC) — Ava Henry 0 0-0 0, Alexa Chase 0 0-0 0, Lillian Etherington 6 7-9 19, Cailey Carroll 1 0-1 2, Izzy Henry 3 1-3 9, A’Lailah Perry 5 2-3 12, Maddie Hilbert 1 0-0 3. Totals: 16 10-16 45.

Webster City (0-4, 0-2 NCC) — Fallon Casey 0 0-0 0, Kelly Stoakes 3 4-6 12, Leah Kasch 2 4-4 9, Shelby Queen 0 0-0 0, Livia Kasch 0 0-0 0, Jenna Miller 5 4-5 16, Trinity Griffith 2 0-0 5. Totals: 12 12-15 42.

Algona 5 15 2 23 — 45

Web City 10 12 13 7 — 42

3-point field goals — Algona 3 (Henry 2, Hilbert); WC 6 (Stoakes 2, Miller 2, Le. Kasch, Griffith). Rebounds — WC 26 (Miller 8, Li. Kasch 6). Steals — WC 8 (Le. Kasch 3). Assists — WC 6 (Stoakes 2, Le. Kasch 2). Turnovers — WC 13. Team fouls — Algona 14, WC 17. Fouled out — none.