The Eureka High junior happily bowed to tradition on Friday night.

Cuneio allowed senior Brooklyn Banderman to take her place as the lineups were announced on senior night.

Then, just over a minute into contest, Cuneio was sent into the game.

That rare bench role seemed to light a fire under the 5-foot-10 forward, who responded with a career-high 22 points to lead the Wildcats to a 67-61 come-from-behind win over Marquette in a Suburban Conference Yellow Pool girls basketball clash.

Eureka (16-6 overall, 3-0 league) broke a five-game losing steak against Marquette (13-7, 1-2).

Cuneio, who came into the game averaging 7.6 points per contest, took control down the stretch as the Wildcats rallied from an 11-point deficit with 6 minutes and 49 seconds left in the fourth quarter.

"We just focused and got locked in," Cuneio said.

Cuneio started the first 20 games of the season and didn't mind watching for a minute or so before entering the contest.

It gave her a different perspective and also meant the world to Banderman.

"This team, we just all get along," Cuneio said. "We play for each other and we do things like this for each other."

Eureka coach James Alsup started all three seniors on his roster, including Natalie Harty and Megan McCune.

But it was Cuneio who shined the brightest in front of the huge gathering that including Hassan Haskins, a former Eureka football standout who plays for the Tennessee Titans.

"Let someone else start in her place, that's just what Zoe does," explained junior Bailey Boulay, who added 14 points to winning attack.

Harty chipped in with 11 points.

The Wildcats turned it on down the stretch to steal a game from the rivals. They put together a gargantuan 20-2 run over a span of 3:49 to turn an 11-point deficit into a 61-54 lead.

"The shots finally fell," Alsup said. "The first three quarters we were missing free throws, missing layups."

Explained Harty, "I think we just realized how much this game meant to us. Something shifted in our minds."

Marquette, behind the one-two punch of sisters Macie McNece and Violet McNece, appeared in control throughout the first three quarters. The Mustangs built up a 12-point lead early in the second period.

Violet McNece, who finished with 18 points, drilled a 3-pointer from the baseline to push the lead to 11 early in a final frame.

But Eureka battled back. McCune hit a 3-pointer and Boulay scored on a spinning layup to get the hosts to within 52-46.

Marquette junior Trinity Gygi answered with a nifty drive down the lane.

The Wildcats then scored the next 15 points to go up 61-54.

McCune drilled another trey and Cuneio converted on an old-fashioned 3-point play to begin the salvo. Masion Smith then sank one of two foul shots put her team in front for the first time since the opening minute.

Cuneio added a conventional 3-point play off a steal and layup and Harty drilled a 3-pointer to complete the blitz.

"We rebounded on the defensive end and we were able to get out in transition," Alsup said. "Good things started to happen."

Cuneio and her teammates stayed the course despite the double digit deficit.

"We just kept shooting with confidence knowing they were eventually going to fall," Boulay said.

The Mustangs were coming off an impressive win over Helias in the title game of the Lindbergh Invitational.

They carried that momentum into the fourth quarter Friday.

"We got tentative," Marquette coach Tim Bowdern said. "We kind of choked it away."