CUBA CITY - Before Darlington began a girls high school basketball program in 1984, the Cuba City Cubans had already won two of their state-record nine state championships. Since then, the Cubans have become a Division 3 powerhouse with last year's team going 29-0 to capture another Division 3 state title.

On Thursday, Darlington earned one of the biggest signature wins in program history. The Redbirds defeated Cuba City 47-39 to move into a first-place tie with the Cubans in the SWAL at 5-1 and a half-game ahead of second-place Fennimore.

Junior Amy Jorgenson celebrated her birthday by leading the Redbirds with 18 points. Sophomore Cassidy Chambers scored 11 points and senior Carly McDonald chipped in with 10 points for Darlington.

"Our defense tonight is what we've been trying to get our players to buy into," said Darlington head coach Mike Chambers. "We caused Cuba City some problems by moving and communicating."

The Redbirds got nearly half of their points at the free throw line by making a sparkling 79 percent on 23-29 shooting. Another bright spot for Darlington was the defense of senior Miranda Wiegel who had five blocked shots.

"Anytime they got into the lane, Miranda was there waiting for them," said Mike Chambers.

Darlington (9-3, 5-1 SWAL) will travel to Shullsburg for a non-conference game Monday.