When the ball is going through the basket, the game looks easy.
When it doesn't, not so much.
"We've got to be a better shooting team," Helias coach Doug Light said Monday night after the Lady Crusaders dropped a 50-44 decision to the Cuba Lady Wildcats at Rackers Fieldhouse.
"We do a lot of good things during games, but we just can't get the ball to go in."
A good defensive effort and an even battle on the boards went for naught as Helias finished 14-of-46 (30.4 percent) from the field in the game.
Helias forced eight Cuba turnovers in the first quarter, but led just 9-8 after hitting just four of 13 shots.
"We had a chance to open up a bigger lead, but we were missing a lot of easy shots," Light said.
Things got a little better in the second quarter for the Lady Crusaders. Helias went 5-of-11, but was only able to stretch its lead to 21-19. That's because Cuba finished 5-of-10 on 3-pointers in the first half.
"We knew they could shoot the 3," Light said. "It was just a couple of little things defensively that allowed their shooters to get open looks that they were able to hit."
The game turned Cuba's way in the third quarter. The Lady Wildcats hit their first seven shots, while the Lady Crusaders missed their first eight attempts. That turned Helias' two-point halftime lead into 34-25 deficit with three minutes left in the quarter.
"That tells the tale," Light said.
Helias closed the quarter with a 5-0 run and trailed 34-30 heading into the final period.
A layup by Ashley Rehagen with 3:10 to play pulled Helias to within three at 40-37. But the Lady Crusaders again went cold from the field as the Lady Wildcats were content to run time off the clock.
Cuba led by as many as eight points in the final minute.
"They got the game where they needed it to get and were able to close it out," Light said.
Taylor Williams finished with a game-high 14 points for Cuba, going 4-of-6 on 3-pointers. Hannah Mitchell added 12 for the Lady Wildcats (7-4), while Aurora Pfeiffer had 10, all in the fourth quarter. Cuba finished 17-of-32 from the field in the contest.
Katlyn Cowell led Helias with 12 points. Luci Francka had 10 first-half points for the Lady Crusaders, while Molly Sandbothe pulled down eight rebounds.
Helias (5-4) will host the Sedalia Smith-Cotton Lady Tigers in the opener of boys-girls doubleheader tonight at Rackers Fieldhouse. Game time is 6 p.m.
Cuba won Monday's JV game 48-42. Lauren Alexander had 10 points for Helias.