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It wasn't often pretty, but it was a win, and at this point in the season it was the only thing De Soto was asking for.

The Wildcats snapped a seven-game losing skid Saturday to secure seventh place in the Tonganoxie Invitational.

"It feels really good," sophomore Kelsey Fisher said. "We were all frustrated with all the losses we had and to go out and win is really going to boost our confidence."

Not often pretty, but the breaking of De Soto's ugly losing streak came on the back of season-best performances by several different Wildcats.

The Cats' last win also came against Atchison, a 43-17 December win that wasn't even that close.

The Redmen eagerly welcomed back their best player, however, and De Soto was quick to notice - senior forward Paige Peltzer helped put De Soto in a 16-9 hole midway through the second quarter.

Junior Wildcat Amber Laudick helped lock down on defense, which in turn helped De Soto back into the game.

"Amber did a great job on her," De Soto coach Dwight Spencer said. "She's turning into that (defensive specialist) because I always know exactly what she's going to give me. She just always gets herself in position and gives 100 percent.

"She's big and strong enough to play anywhere and guard anyone other than a true post player and she's quick enough to play anyone but a true point guard."

With Atchison's offense reduced to a trickle, the Cats opened their own valves.

Junior Barbara Hartz, who finished the game with a team-high 16 points, helped De Soto dominate in the second half.

She made two free throws to cut Atchison's lead to four, then scored four baskets in the quarter. By the time it was over, the gap was gone and the score was tied at 27.

Hartz scored all of her points after halftime.

"I was glad to see it," Spencer said of the German foreign exchange student. "She gets a little homesick and it can be tough on her, but in that second half she raised her level of play very well and that's what we need.

"She understood they didn't have anyone who could stop her, so she was really able to play her game."

Not that she did it in a vacuum - Hartz's timely outburst came thanks to her teammates.

Two of her third quarter baskets came on assists dished by Fisher, quick passes darting in from the wing as Hartz cut from the top of the key down through the lane.

Another assist came in the fourth quarter, this one from sophomore Tami Crow, who finished second on the team with seven points.

"Our shots started falling more," Fisher said of the second half. "We were clicking really well and we knew what each player was going to do. The entry pass (to Hartz) works better that way."

Hartz actually connected with Fisher with three minutes, 35 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter to give the Cats a 34-31 lead. Freshman guard Shelbi Petty followed that basket up with a three-point shot, then Hartz scored again - all a part of a 54-second span that saw De Soto's lead stretch from one to eight.

De Soto lost out on its chance to play for fifth Thursday against Rossville, falling 49-44.

The Cats took a 23-22 lead into halftime and led by even more in the third quarter. They only managed nine points in the fourth, however, a figure the Bulldogs doubled.

Crow led the Cats with 10 points while Hartz and Fisher each added nine.

De Soto won't have any time to savor its first win of 2008. The Cats pack off to Louisburg Tuesday, guaranteed to be one of the most difficult tests of an already exam-filled season.

"Louisburg's next and they're going to be tough, but as long as we work hard in practice this week we should be alright," Fisher said.

De Soto travels to take on the undefeated Louisburg Wildcats at 6 p.m. Tuesday.

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