Edmonson Voice Staff
Darren Doyle, photos
Seven basketball games in nine days takes a toll on even the most athletic bodies, and the Lady Cats felt the effects first hand as they suffered a 64-33 loss to the Russell County Lady Lakers in yesterday's third place match at the Rafferty's/Double Dogs Caveland Classic at ECHS.

Suffering from an illness, sophomore guard Peyton Martin did not play in the contest, and sophomore guard Caitlin Simon left the game early in the first half as she nursed a sore ankle and Achilles tendon. Without the Lady Cats' top scorers, Edmonson County had to rely on reserves and much younger players to do the heavy lifting. While several players gained valuable experience, the team struggled to find any rhythm.

"We're going to bank on our younger kids for the next couple years," said assistant coach Barry Booth. "Tonight is just one game. We're looking ahead within the next three weeks and we have three away district games."

Booth stressed that those games were going to be the focus and are most important at this point in the season.

Martin is expected to be back in action at the next practice, as her illness isn't considered to be a major factor. "That was coach Jackson's call," Booth said. "She probably could've played, but why? We'll need her in district games."

He said Simon would continue caring for her ankle, one that had been injured before. "We don't really know how serious it is right now. We pulled her out as a cautionary matter. Why play her when you're down 30?"

Offensively, the Lady Cats were led in scoring by senior Rachael Duncan, who had nine points, hitting 3 of 4 three-pointers while grabbing 4 rebounds. Senior Madelyn Taylor added 8 points and 2 rebounds.

Also contributing to the offense was Jhonna Basil and Tori Browning with 4 points each, Katlin Collins and Chanley Logsdon each had 3, and Abby Alexander had 2. The Lady Cats are now at an even 7-7 on the year.

Both Martin and Simon were named to the Caveland Classic All-Tournament team.
​
The Lady Cats will travel to Trinity on Saturday to play the first district game of the season in a girl/boy doubleheader beginning at 6pm. You can listen to both games live right here on EdmonsonVoice.com by clicking on WildcatsLive. 

Edmonson Voice Sports
A bigger, stronger Bardstown Lady Tigers team was able to overcome the Lady Cats last night as Edmonson County fell 56-48 in the 2nd round at the Raffery's/Double Dogs Caveland Classic.

Coach Kevin Jackson said that the girls had experienced lots of basketball in a short period of time...6 games in 8 days. He wasn't making excuses, but it's obviously a factor.

The Lady Cats bolted out to a  9-0 start thanks to Rachael Duncan's 3 point shooting and led 15-8 after the first quarter. The Lady Tigers gathered themselves, stayed on one pace, and simply began inching their way back in. The Lady Cat lead was only 27-23 at the half, led by Jhonna Basil's 12 first half points. 

The Lady Cats were unlucky with several easy bucket attempts in the paint and Bardstown was able to snatch loose balls and keep Edmonson County off the boards. The Lady Cats trailed 36-33 after the third, as Bardstown outscored them 13-5 in the quarter. 

The Lady Tigers stayed on track, forcing the Lady Cats to begin fouling in the last couple minutes, where Bardstown hit their free throws down the stretch to hold on for the 56-48 win.

Edmonson County was led by Caitlin Simon's 18 points and 8 rebounds. She also hit all 8 of her free throws. Jhonna Basil added 12 points, Peyton Martin had 8, Duncan had 6 points and 5 rebounds, Taylor added 3 points, and Katlin Collins added one point and 5 rebounds.

"I told the girls in the locker room, in athletics, you get what you deserve," Jackson said. "Tonight, we got what we deserved. I didn't coach well enough to win, the girls didn't play well enough to win, and you get a big 'L' when that happens."

He also mentioned fatigue being a factor in the loss with the fact that sometimes a player's mind says one thing, but the body can't catch up. "That's high school athletics. They're not college, they're not professionals, they don't make a living at doing this, and I told them that nobody messed up on purpose. It's part of the game, and we got what we deserved tonight."

The girls will take on Russell County tonight at 5:30 for a chance at third place. The finals between Bardstown and Monroe County will take place immediately after. 

You can listen to the broadcast live, beginning around 5pm tonight on WildcatsLive, only on EdmonsonVoice.com.

Darren Doyle, story
Laney Meredith, photos
Play four basketball games in six days, add everything that comes with a Christmas holiday, throw in only one practice, and then you'll be in the same situation as the Lady Cats were in last night as they defeated Caldwell County 69-36 in the first round of the Rafferty's/Double Dogs Caveland Classic, hosted by Edmonson County.

Before the game, Coach Kevin Jackson said, "I told the girls that tonight, we're going to have to have energy and enthusiasm. Nobody ever did anything good without having enthusiasm."

It didn't seem to be hard to find, as the Lady Cats came out with strong defense, forced tons of turnovers, and jumped out to an 18-10 lead after the first.

The Lady Cats never really had anything to worry about as they were able to continue creating space from the Lady Tigers, leading 38-16 at the half. Edmonson County extended the lead to 57-30 after three, which allowed several younger Lady Cats to see some playing time in the fourth as the Lady Cats went on to win by 33 points.

Sophomore guards Peyton Martin and Caitlin Simon were able to continually drive the lane and get easy layups throughout the contest. Simon led the way for the Lady Cats with 26 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals. Martin also added 21 points of her own with 4 assists and helped dismantle the Lady Tiger press time and time again.

"I think we're getting better everyday," Jackson said. "The kids are starting to learn what we want them to do, and they're great kids. I'd heard that before I came over here (to coach) and they are, they're super kids and fun to coach."

Also helping in the Edmonson County win was Jhonna Basil with 4 points and 4 rebounds, Madelyn Taylor with 6 points, Kaitlyn Collins with 4 points, Skylar Lewis with 3, Tori Browning with 2 points and 5 rebounds, and Hannah Meredith and Madison Harrison each had two, while Lauren Ballance added one.

The Lady Cats will face Bardstown tonight at 7:15 in round two. "They're very athletic," Jackson added. "If you let'em beat you on the boards, press you, and trap you, then they'll give you fits, so we've got some things we'll be working on in our shoot around tomorrow night before the game."

WildcatsLive will begin around 7pm as the guys bring you all the action live right here on EdmonsonVoice.com.

Edmonson County High School will once again host the Caveland Classic tournament this year. ECHS Athletic Director Kyle Pierce is looking for a big turnout in Brownsville. 

"We are excited to be hosting the Rafferty's/Double Dogs Caveland Classic once again," Pierce said. "This year's tournament should be one of the most competitive girls tournaments in the state of Kentucky."

The 8-team, 3-Day tournament begins on Monday, December 28th. Game times each day are:2:00, 3:45, 5:30, and 7:15. Admission for the entire day of games is $8. A tournament pass may be purchased for $20. ECHS Season Ticket Holders will get in free with their card.

Pierce noted that the tournament isn't possible without the help of Rafferty's and Double Dogs restaurants and Edmonson County's very own Scott Lindsey.

"Scott has been a true friend to our community and our athletics department. This allows our girls and our fans to stay at home during the Christmas Break and have an extra three home games during the year. If you see Scott, make sure you thank him for his support."

​Pierce also encouraged Lady Cat fans to go visit Rafferty's and Double Dogs restaurants when you visit Bowling Green.

"We want a big crowd for the entire tournament, so please make plans to attend and cheer on our Lady Cats."

Edmonson Voice Sports
Iszic Blankenship hit one of two free throws with 11 seconds on the clock against Nelson County to give the Wildcats a 42-41 lead as they held on to win yesterday at Hancock County in the Aleris Christmas Tournament.

Going in to the game, Coach Mac said the keys would be to contain Nelson County's three top scorers, which included a three point shooter, a post player, and a slash-type scorer. He also wanted to put more emphasis on offensive rebounding and have a good showing with a strong offensive presence in the paint.

Coach couldn't have drawn it up much better as the Cats out-rebounded the Cardinals 28-18, scored over half their points in the paint, and strong defense allowed only two Nelson County scorers in double figures.

Senior forward Cuban Sowders took a nasty fall as he got tangled up under the basket with a Nelson County player with 3:19 left in the third. He had to be helped off the court and did not return to the game. 

Nelson County was able to hold a few points advantage throughout the most of the contest, but with 4:45 left in the game, the Cardinals were trying to get an open look inside, but ended up playing catch at the elbow while the Cats were in a 2-3 zone. Junior Bailey Board timed a pass just right and came up with a steal that led to a fast break and a Hunter Buttram bucket that tied the score at 37 all.

After a short jumper from the Cardinals to regain the lead, Hunter Buttram's jumper in the paint was blocked and Nelson County came up with the ball and were forced to play catch against the Wildcat zone yet again. History repeated itself as Board picked off the same identical pass and took it to the other end to tie the score again at 39-39 with 3:20 to go.

After a missed Cardinal jumper, Hunter Buttram's 3 point attempt rattled in and out, but Blankenship was there with an offensive board and a bucket to take the 41-39 lead with 2:37 to go. 

Nelson County drew a foul on Blankenship and after two free throws, the score was tied at 41 all with 1:33 left. The Wildcats ran a 4 corner-type offense in the final minute that resulted in a pass down to Blankenship where he drew the foul with 11 seconds left. After hitting one of two free throws, Nelson County was forced to take a deep three at the buzzer, thanks to tough defense from the Wildcats, which fell short, as did the Cardinals.

"I'm so proud of our defense," Coach Mac said. "Caleb Skaggs came in there against a kid that was very physical and a lot bigger than he is, but by-golly, he stuck him. It's a credit to Caleb. All our guys worked so hard on the defensive end."

Coach Mac said the offense was shaky at times, but big plays came when needed. He said the plan was for Board to stay lower in the zone defense early in play, and only come out to the top if he felt good with gambling for the steal. Board obviously felt good with that move, not once, but twice. 

The boys will have the next few days off for Christmas, something much needed for the tired and banged up Wildcats. Sowders said he felt like his knee would be fine. "It's sore, but nothing major," he said. "Ice and Ibuprofen, and I'll be alright."

Once again, at the end of the game, the main story is a team win, something Wildcat fans have seen time and time again this season.

"We talk a lot about 'team,'" Mac said. "It may sound corny, but I know that every one of those kids have each others' backs. The ones that didn't get in today's game were still clapping on the bench, they were happy in the locker room. We're more than a team, we're somewhat a family and it's carried over from last year. They play together, they don't care who scores, they don't care who gets the headlines, they want to win, and they'll sacrifice to do it."

The Wildcats now move to 7-4 on the season. In the low-scoring affair, Hunter Buttram and Caleb Skaggs were the only Cats in double figures with 12 each. Sowders had 8, Blankenship had 5, Board had 4, and Cole had 1. 

"We kinda got a saying," Mac added. "We don't lose. We either win or we learn, and we learned from Greenwood, Barren, and Hancock when we didn't show up to play. We're learning we have to show up to every game."

The next game will be December 28 at Ohio County in an invitational tournament.

Edmonson Voice Sports
The Lady Cats snapped a four game losing streak when they defeated Hopkins County Central 57-51 in the ESB Ladies Showcase in Glasgow on Saturday. The girls were led by Peyton Martin's 17 points and Caitlin Simon's 16 points and 7 rebounds. 

Tori Browning added 9 points and 2 rebounds, Madelyne Taylor had 7 points and 9 rebounds in the effort. The girls shot 40% from the field and 81% from the free throw line.

The Lady Cats traveled to Calloway County on Monday for the Murray Bank Hardwood Classic where they faced Carlisle County in the first round. Edmonson County was led in scoring by Martin with 14 points, but it was an impressive day for rebounding for the team. 

In rebounding, Caitlin Simon and Tori Browning each had 6, Martin and Madelyne Taylor each had 5, Rachael Duncan had 4, and Johnna Basil, Skylar Lewis, and Kaitlyn Collins each had 3. Rounding out the scoring was Taylor and Duncan with 9 each, Simon with 7, Basil 6, Browning 5, Logsdon 3, and Collins with 2. 

Edmonson County advanced to the next round, defeating Carlisle County 55-47.

On Tuesday, the girls took on Calloway County in the semi finals where they trailed 11-10 after the first quarter, but grabbed a 19-18 lead at the half. Edmonson County was able to hold to a 32-27 lead after three, and held on for a 52-41 final.

The Lady Cats will now face Henry County at 2:30 today in the championship game.

Darren Doyle, story and photos
The Wildcats bounced back with a win tonight over Villa Madonna 79-58 after falling short to Hancock County on Sunday in the Aleris Christmas Tournament, hosted by Hancock County.

What happened in the Sunday game vs. Hancock? "We played horribly," said Coach Mike McClintic. "We came out flat and just had no energy."

Coach Mac said the first thing he wanted to see from his Wildcats was a high level of intensity, and the boys showed just that as they came out with much more energy, jumping out to a 7-0 lead.

The Blue Lightning of Villa Madonna stayed in a double-digit deficit the majority of the game, but great three point shooting from VMHS kept the Wildcats from running away with it early. ECHS led 23-16 after the first and 42-27 at the half.

Good defensive pressure from the Wildcats caused several turnovers for the Blue Lightning, which allowed EC several baskets in transition. The Wildcats opened up a 59-45 lead after the third and cruised on to a 21 point win.

"It's always good to get a win in one of these Christmas tournaments," Assistant Coach Weaver said. "We were very disappointed with the Hancock County game. Team-wise, we just don't think we gave a great effort. I think we came out and played really hard today. There were a few sloppy things, but we did well. Our free throws were better, and hey, we got a win and we'll try to get one tomorrow, so it's all good."

Leading the way for the Wildcats was Cuban Sowders with 17 points and 3 rebounds, but with 5 Wildcats in double figures, it was clearly a team effort. Hunter Buttram scored 16 and grabbed 6 rebounds, Caleb Skaggs had 15 points and 3 rebounds, Iszic Blankenship had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds and Bailey Board scored 10 as well.

The team made 14/17 free throws for 82% on the evening. Also helping in the effort was Logan Lindsey with 5 points, while Dylan Elmore and Logan Minton had two points apiece. 

The Wildcats will now play Nelson County tomorrow (Tuesday) at 2:45 in the consolation bracket finals. Don't want to make the drive to Hawesville? Not many people do, so if you can't attend in person, listen live on WildcatsLive, only on EdmonsonVoice.com. Pregame show should start approximately at 2:30.

Tori Browning and Cuban Sowders are in the Senior Spotlight this week, and we update all the Wildcat and Lady Cat Basketball action...give us a listen! Merry Christmas to everyone!

Edmonson Voice Sports
Laney Meredith photos
The Lady Cats couldn't even get to double figures in the first half as they fell to the Barren County Lady Trojans for their 4th straight loss, 49-42 on Thursday night at home.

The first quarter simply could've been considered low scoring with the Lady Cats trailing 10-6, but Barren County opened it up with a 23-9 lead at halftime with forcing Lady Cat turnovers that led to scoring opportunities.

Things actually got worse in the third quarter as the Lady Cats were only able to muster up one free throw as the Barren County lead grew to 32-10. 

The Lady Cats were able to turn things around in the fourth quarter as they rallied with a huge 32 point outburst, unfortunately they had already dug a hole too deep and couldn't overcome the deficit.

Leading the way for Edmonson County was Caitlin Simon with 11 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 steals. Peyton Martin was the only other Lady Cat in double figures with 10 points, 3 rebounds, and 8 steals. Other scorers included Jhonna Basil with 9 points, Rachael Duncan had 7, Madelyn Taylor with 3, and Tori Browning scored 2. 

The Lady Cats are scheduled to play in the ESB Ladies Showcase at Glasgow where they'll take on Hopkins County Central Saturday, Dec 19th, at 1:30pm.

The next Lady Cats live broadcast will be during the Caveland Classic at home, Dec 28-30.

Darren Doyle story
Laney Meredith photos
If you haven't followed Wildcat basketball at all this year and you casually heard that their record is 4-3, you'd probably think "that's not too bad." The thing is, even though Edmonson County is only one game over .500, it's actually very impressive, as their 3 losses on the year have come from very good, top-ranked teams that have been running other teams out of gyms in the 3rd and 4th regions.

The Wildcats lost 89-87 in overtime to the Barren County Trojans on a 15-foot, off balance bank shot at the buzzer by Nick Mabe, who led the Trojans with 22 points. It's the second loss at or near the buzzer in the past three games for the Wildcats.

Powered by senior forward Cuban Sowders, who led all scorers with 30 points and 10 rebounds, Edmonson County controlled the game, sometimes with double-digit leads, until Barren County was able to dial up the pressure in the 4th quarter and the top ranked team in the 4th region began to wear the Wildcats down.

"We let this one slip away from us," said assistant coach Bart Weaver. "We made some turnovers down the stretch. That killed us, but we hung on and battled back in overtime, but you know, Barren County is a good team."

And with such a quality team, it was difficult for the Wildcats to keep the Trojans from scoring when they needed to, which was during the final minute of regulation and then the overtime.

The Wildcats led 23-13 after the first quarter and 39-32 at halftime. Going into the fourth, the Cats were still ahead with a 6 point, 58-52 lead. The Wildcats had gained a 73-63 lead with 3:47 to go in the game, but the Trojans would start cutting that lead with a 15-5 run that would tie it at 78 all to end regulation.

The overtime started with three straight missed buckets by the Wildcats and a foul on Hunter Buttram. The Trojans hit two free throws for their first lead of the game, 80-78. After a Wildcat turnover and a foul, Barren hit one of two free throws for a 81-78 lead. Sowders drew a foul and hit both free throws to make it 81-80 in favor of Barren County, but another Trojan basket made it 83-80 with 1:30 to go.

On the next play, junior Caleb Skaggs missed a three to tie the game, but an offensive rebound and put back by Tucker Cole brought the Cats to within one at 83-82. Another Barren County basket extended their lead to 85-82, and after a Sowders miss, Barren County drew a foul on Iszic Blankenship, hitting two free throws and making it a two possession, 87-82 lead with 46 seconds to go.

Skaggs nailed a three to get the Cats within 2 at 87-85 with 16 seconds left. After a Barren County timeout, the Trojans were fouled as they inbounded the ball but missed the front end of the bonus. Blankenship swiped his 13th rebound of the game with 10 seconds left which gave the Cats a chance to tie or win.

Edmonson County pounded the paint and Cuban Sowders scored his 30th point of the night and tied the score at 87 all with 3.5 seconds left. After a Barren County timeout, the Trojans inbounded the ball to Nick Mabe who then dribbled the length of the floor and banked in the bucket at the buzzer.

"We out played them tonight," Weaver said. "That's what's sickening about this one. We outplayed a good Barren County team, except for down the stretch."

Unfortunately for the Wildcats, all that matters in wins and losses is the score after the buzzer sounds, and Barren County was able to get the job done when it counted to remain undefeated on the season. Team turnovers and costly mistakes down the stretch proved to be the disadvantages for the Cats on this night.

Behind Sowders, senior Hunter Buttram also had a big night with 23 points, hitting 6 of 7 three pointers and making 5 of 6 free throws. Junior Caleb Skaggs added 18 points in the marathon effort.

Also helping the cause was Iszic Blankenship with 8 points and 13 rebounds, Jackson Sasse and Austin Hodge each had 3 points, and Tucker Cole added 2.

The Wildcats are now 4-3 on the season and will play Hancock County away in the first game of the Aleris Christmas Tournament on Sunday at 3:45pm. Whether or not they win or lose will determine what time the boys will play on Monday. Sunday's game will not be broadcast, but you can listen to Monday's game on WildcatsLive. We'll keep you updated as for the time. 

You can always listen to any of our previous broadcasts for both boys and girls by visiting our episode archives by clicking here.

Darren Doyle, story
Laney Meredith, photos
A win is always good. Homecoming wins are even better. Thanks to solid performances by seniors Cuban Sowders and Hunter Buttram, the Wildcats were able knock off Larue County 75-68 in front of a nice homecoming crowd last night at ECHS.

Buttram had a hot hand early and set the pace for the Cats hitting three out of three from behind the arc, and putting up 13 points in the first half. 

The Wildcats had size advantage over the Hawks and were successful in the paint. Cuban Sowders had a big night with 22 points and 8 rebounds, while hitting 6/7 from the free throw line.

"Me and stick (Iszic Blankenship) work hard to get open, and when our guards are getting to the break, those are high percentage shots that we'll take all day," Sowders said.

The Wildcats led 20-13 after the first quarter and 39-33 at halftime. The Hawks wouldn't go away as good three point shooting kept it close at times. Edmonson County allowed Larue several open looks from three point land, and the Hawks made them pay, shooting 44% from beyond the arc.

Assistant coach Bart Weaver said going inside was key for the Wildcats. "We called timeout in the third and said we wanted to get back inside, which we didn't do well during the second quarter. We got three straight buckets and got the lead back up to 5 or 6, and then it opened up some three point shots," he said.

It was another team effort all around for EC with Buttram finishing with 18 points and 8 rebounds, Caleb Skaggs had 10, and both Iszic Blankenship and Bailey Board scored 9 each. "Everybody played their roles very well tonight and we all hit big shots when we needed them," said Buttram. "It was definitely a team win, that's how we play our game and I love it."

Sophomore Tucker Cole helped the effort with 4 points and senior Jacob Peger added 2. The Wildcats out-rebounded the Hawks by a whopping 37-17 and shot an impressive 51% from the field overall.

"It was a great win tonight, especially being homecoming," said Buttram. "I'm glad we gave our crowd a good performance."

The Wildcats will face their toughest challenge so far this year on Thursday night as they take on Barren County, a top ranked team in the 4th region at home in a boy/girl doubleheader. The Wildcats move to 4-2 on the season. 

Edmonson Voice Sports
Kayla Meredith, photos
As hard as it was for Edmonson County fans to watch the victory slip from the fingers of the Lady Cats to the Greenwood Lady Gators on Friday night, fans saw almost the exact same ending for the Wildcats in their game against the Gators immediately following.

A close contest throughout the entire game, the Wildcats found themselves in a position that was certainly to their advantage as EC has been solid with great free throw shooting on the year. With only 13.8 seconds left in the game,  junior Caleb Skaggs went to the line for two shots as the Cats led 65-62.

Skaggs hit the first to extend the lead to a two possession game at 66-62 but missed the second one. The Gators nailed a three pointer on the other end with 6.8 seconds left in the game to cut Edmonson County's lead to only one, at 66-65.

Clutching a one-point lead and the ball, all the Cats had to do was inbound, take care of the ball, and hit their free throws, but no such luck was to be had.

Unable to inbounds the ball, the Cats were called for a 5 second violation, giving Greenwood the ball and a chance to win. The Gators were able to score, taking a 67-66 lead with 2.2 seconds remaining. Just like the Lady Cats, the Wildcats were forced to launch a desperate shot at the buzzer that missed and Greenwood came out on top.

Senior Cuban Sowders led the Wildcats with 16 points, 7 rebounds, and hitting 8 of 9 free throws. Senior Hunter Buttram also impressed with 15 points, going 3 for 6 from three point land, while junior Caleb Skaggs added 14 points as he hit 2 of 4 3's and 8/10 foul shots.

Blankenship added 8 points and 5 rebounds while Board added 7 points and 4 rebounds.

The boys headed to Glasgow in an attempt to shake the Greenwood dust from their feet, and they did just that with a 68-54 win against the Scotties. 

A very close half saw the Cats down 31-30 at halftime, but dialed up the intensity a notch as they were able to break away from the Scotties with good shot selections and knocking down 88% from the foul line.

Leading the way again for the Cats was Cuban Sowders with 18 points and 7 rebounds. Junior Caleb Skaggs also had a solid performance with 17 points.

Also helping the effort was Bailey Board with 14 points and 6 rebounds, and Hunter Buttram notched a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Iszic Blankenship added 4 points and 7 rebounds, Sasse and Lindsey added 2 each, while Cole scored 1.

The Wildcats will take on Larue County Tuesday night at ECHS for the 2015-16 Homecoming game in a JV/Varsity match up. JV action is scheduled to begin at 5:30pm.

You can listen live on EdmonsonVoice.com with our exclusive coverage of Wildcat and Lady Cat sports, only on WildcatsLive.

Edmonson Voice Sports
Kayla Meredith photos
After jumping out to a red hot 3-0 on the season, the Lady Cats have cooled down to even their record up at 3-3 after losing a heart breaker to Greenwood in the final seconds on Friday, and suffering another loss at Apollo on Saturday.

Friday night's game against the Lady Gators of Greenwood was a fierce battle, all the way to the final buzzer as the point spread stayed neck and neck all night long. 

The Lady Cats took the 48-47 lead on sophomore Peyton Martin's bucket with 13 seconds left in the game. The Lady Gators were able to draw a foul on the other end as Greenwood went to the line for two shots with 7.2 seconds left. The Lady Gator hit the first, tying the score at 48 all. She missed the second, but Greenwood was able to snatch the offensive rebound nail the putback, going up 50-48 with only 3 seconds left. 

The Lady Cats were forced to throw up a prayer that missed, and the Lady Gators came out on top of the nail biter in Bowling Green.

Leading the way for the Lady Cats was sophomore Caitlin Simon with 20 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists. Sophomore Peyton Martin also had impressive numbers with 14 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assists, and 5 steals. 

Also helping the cause was senior Jhonna Basil with 7 points, senior Rachael Duncan with 5 points, and senior Madelyn Taylor with 2 points.

With no rest for the weary, the Lady Cats then hosted Apollo at ECHS to take on the Lady Eagles the following day on Saturday.

Another close match up against a very good team, the Lady Cats were down only two at halftime 23-21, but a sluggish third quarter allowed the Lady Eagles to create a little space as they opened up at 37-29 lead over Edmonson County. The Lady Cats couldn't overcome the deficit and lost 47-43.

Jhonna Basil led the Lady Cats in scoring with 13 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 assists, while Peyton Martin had 10 points, 7 assists, 8 rebounds, and 4 steals.

Caitlin Simon added 8 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists, and Madelyn Taylor added 4 points and 7 rebounds while Rachael Duncan added 3 points. 

The Lady Cats look to get back on their winning ways this week as they take on Barren County Thursday night at home in a girl/boy doubleheader. Girls game is scheduled to start at 6pm,

Roundball is wide open! We hear from Coach Kevin Jackson, Coach Mike McClintic, shine the Senior Spotlight on Jhonna Basil...and the ECMS 8th Grade Lady Cats are Conference Champs again...delay no longer - listen now!

Darren Doyle, story
Laney Meredith, photos
It was tough match up against a tough team last night at ECHS as the Wildcats fell to the Daviess County Panthers, one of the better teams in the third region, 66-56.

"It's a tough loss," said Assistant Coach Bart Weaver. "I don't think when you look at the scoreboard at the end of the game, it was a good indication of what kind of game it was." 

The Wildcats kept it close for three and a half quarters but were forced to foul toward the end of the game and the Panthers hit their free throws down the stretch.

"We fought. We wanted to limit our turnovers, we wanted to play good sound, help defense. We had a good game plan going in, but the disappointing thing to me and Coach Mac was, we had their two best players in foul trouble in the first half, but we couldn't take advantage of it," Weaver said.

It was a physical game with lots of contact. At one point, the officials got everyone together to try to cool the attitudes. A technical foul was issued to Panther player for mouthing off after a call, and trash talking was plentiful from both teams.

"We saw the talking, we could hear some of it too, but you know, I don't think it took us out of anything, we just have to learn to play poised in those situations. n the last minute of the game, there were a couple times instead of running good plays, we were jacking up threes, and those are low percentage shots with somebody in your face."

Offensively, the Wildcats were led by Senior Cuban Sowders with 15 points and 5 rebounds. Other Cats in double figures were Senior Hunter Buttram with 12 points, Iszic Blankenship had 10 points and 5 rebounds, and Junior Caleb Skaggs had 10 points.

Also helping the effort was junior Bailey Board with 9 points.

​As a team, the Wildcats shot a measily 22% from the three-point line, 36% from the field,  but managed to hit 80% of their foul shots.

The Wildcats are now 2-1 on the season and will travel to Greenwood on Friday night in a girl/boy doubleheader. You can listen to the live stream on your home for ECHS sports, WildcatsLive on EdmonsonVoice.com. Girls action is scheduled to start at 6pm with the boys following immediately after.

Although the Lady Cats suffered their first loss of the season last night to Daviess County, fans were still glad to see Head Coach Kevin Jackson back on the hardwood at ECHS.

The Lady Panthers were very effective with their zone defense against the Lady Cats that not only clogged up the paint, but also limited three point opportunities for EC. Edmonson County had been somewhat successful from three point range in their previous games, but were only able to attempt 6 of them last night, making only one of them for a miserable 17% from beyond the arc.

The Lady Cats found a bright spot in the first half from senior Jhonna Basil with 12 first half points, as she was able to connect on mid range jumpers. She finished with 15 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals.

Sophomore guard Peyton Martin was more aggressive in the second half with dribble drives that created more offensive opportunities for the Lady Cats. She finished with 15 points, 6 assists, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals.

Assistant Coach Barry Booth spoke of the effective defense from Daviess County. "They were long and athletic," he said. "They made it tough for us to get good shots. There are some things we're going to work on, but Daviess County is a good basketball team."

The Lady Cats were in it the entire way as they trailed 16-13 after the first, and 25-21 at the half. The Lady Panthers were able to increase their lead to 42-36 after the third. EC was forced to foul during the last couple of minutes and Daviess County hit their free throws to make it a final score of 57-45. 

Sophomore Caitlin Simon added 11 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 steals in the effort. Also helping out was aggressive play by sophomore Katlin Collins, who grabbed 4 rebounds off the bench. Senior Madelyn Taylor scored 4 points and swiped 3 rebounds. 
​
The Lady Cats are now 3-1 on the season and will travel to Greenwood to take on the Lady Gators in a girl/boy doubleheader on Friday night. You can listen to the live broadcast on WildcatsLive, only on EdmonsonVoice.com. Tip off is scheduled for 6pm.

Edmonson Voice Sports
ECHS fans were happy all the way around Saturday as both the Lady Cats and Wildcats defeated Cumberland County on the road yesterday with the girls winning 58-42, and the boys winning 75-61.

The girls were led offensively by sophomore Caitlin Simon, who put up 20 points in the win, with Peyton Martin adding 14.

A strong first quarter for Simon and the Lady Cats proved to be the difference in this one as they jumped out to an 18-7 lead after one, with Simon scoring 10 points in the quarter. She would cool down some, as would the rest of the team, but they were able to hold off Cumberland County for their third straight win, now sitting undefeated at 3-0. 

"Right now, as a team, I feel like each game only one or two of us are having a great game," said Simon. "I'm looking forward to the games when all of us have great games. I feel like that team can win against anyone."

Also helping the cause was Rachael Duncan hitting two 3's for 6 points, Tori Browning, Jhonna Basil, and Kaitlin Collins each had 4, Madelyne Taylor added 3, Cierra Woodcock scored 2 and Skylar Lewis had 1 point. 

The girls will play at home on Tuesday, Dec 8th against Daviess County. This will be the first official game with new coach Kevin Jackson as he finished his three game suspension on Saturday.

In boys action, it was a game of inside strength for the Wildcats as ECHS pounded the ball in the paint to senior Cuban Sowders, who had a big game with 24 points and 5 rebounds, and junior Iszic Blankenship with 14 points and 4 rebounds.

Things got started pretty evenly as the Cats held a 17-16 lead after the first, but the Wildcats were able to take control of the game, pounding the ball inside while taking advantage of the size difference over Cumberland County. 

Sowders dominated the Cumberland County inside defense and the height of Blankenship was a huge advantage for the Cats.

"We picked up our intensity toward the end of the first quarter and things started to pick up," said Sowders.

Although he led the team in scoring, he was quick to give credit to his teammates. "I wouldn't call it leading the team, they did a fantastic job of getting me the ball and I made some shots while also getting to the free throw line." Sowders hit 7 of 10 foul shots.

Assistant Coach Bart Weaver spoke of what the expectations were coming into the game.

"We wanted to limit our turnovers today, and I believe we did that," said Weaver. "We also wanted to keep building some momentum because we've got a tough week ahead of us."

Weaver said he thought the low post play from Sowders and Blankenship looked good. "Going into the game, we wanted to go inside-out. (We wanted to) establish the low post, and then that would make opportunities for some kick out to threes. We're not going to shoot it like we did against Breckinridge every night, so we have to do some other things, and our post play worked well tonight."

Also helping in the effort was Bailey Board with 10 points and 6 rebounds and Hunter Buttram had 9 points and 7 rebounds.

Other Wildcats scoring were Sasse with 6, Skaggs 5, Cole 3, Carey 2, with Hines and Lindsey with one each.

The Wildcats are now 2-0 and will tip off against Daviess County on Tuesday night immediately following the girls game. The Lady Cats are scheduled to begin at 6pm. If you can't make it to the game, tune in with Jamie and Double D on WildcatsLive for live action, only on EdmonsonVoice.com. 

It's busy in Wildcat Alley! Kayla Meredith signs to play for Midway University, Kevin Jackson discusses the Lady Cats, Mike McClintic shares his thoughts about the Wildcats, we update ECMS Basketball news and more...listen now!

Edmonson Voice Staff
Laney Meredith, photos
Lady Cat sophomore guard Peyton Martin led the way in a win over the Warren East Lady Raiders on Thursday night with 21 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists in a 52-31 win that now has Edmonson County sitting at 2-0 on the season.

The Lady Cats were without head coach Kevin Jackson as he was serving the second of a three game suspension, but coach Barry Booth and company were able to hold the fort down in Jackson's absence.

ECHS was very effective with defensive pressure as the Lady Raiders didn't have a single player in double figures. The Lady Raiders were led by Sarah Peters with 8 points.

Senior Jhonna Basil put up 10 points while grabbing 4 rebounds, and sophomore Caitlyn Simon added 8 points and 4 rebounds.

The Lady Cats shot an impressive 88% from the free throw line, knocking down 19 of 22. Also helping the cause was senior Tori Browning with 6 points and 8 rebounds, Madelyn Taylor hitting all her free throws for 4 points, and senior Rachael Duncan with a three point basket. 

The Lady Cats will now travel to Cumberland County on Saturday in a girl/boy doubleheader with tip off scheduled for 3pm. You can hear Jamie and Scott broadcast both games live on WildcatsLive right here on EdmonsonVoice.com, with the pregame show kicking off around 2:45pm.

Darren Doyle, story
Laney Meredith, photos
There were actually three teams that showed up for the Wildcats' season opener at home against Breckinridge County last night. You not only had the Breckinridge County Fighting Tigers and the Wildcats, but also another Edmonson County team that decided to show up for the second half. Wildcat fans weren't all that excited to watch the first half team, but they'll tell you that the second half bunch needs to show up every night as ECHS defeated Region 3 top ranked Breckinridge 80-77 in an intense comeback win.

Sloppy play, poor defensive positioning, and foul trouble were keys that allowed Breckinridge to control the pace of the game throughout the first half. The Wildcats had trouble handling the ball, they forced shots, and committed some cheap fouls that forced two starters, senior forward Hunter Buttram and junior center Iszic Blankenship to sit the bench more than the coaching staff would've liked.

"Call it the first game jitters, I guess," said assistant coach Bart Weaver. "Maybe being nervous against a top pre-ranked team in the region, but once we got going, we made some adjustments. We had some guys really step up, they played their roles, and we're really proud of them."

Breckinridge held an easy 7-9 point lead throughout most of the first half as the Wildcats continually played catch up, trailing 37-30 at the half.

"We started chasing their two best players and worked a triangle defense against the rest of them. We put a tremendous amount of pressure on Mingus (Breck Co. guard), and he's one of the best players in the region," Weaver said.

During the 3rd, the Wildcats offense began to show life for the first time in the game as they went on a 9-0 run to cut the lead by two. Blankenship picked up his third foul early in the quarter and had to sit again. ECHS outscored the Tigers 23-20 in the quarter but still trailed 57-53 going into the fourth.

Junior guard Caleb Skaggs provided a huge spark off the bench as he drilled back-to-back 3's early in the 4th, and that was followed up by a Buttram three pointer which tied the game at 62 all. Aggressive play in the paint from senior Cuban Sowders resulted in a three point play and another couple of free throws by Sowders to keep the game close. 

The dagger came for the Tigers when Skaggs buried another three pointer to give the Wildcats a 70-69 lead with about three minutes to go. The Wildcats would never trail again as they nailed 10 out of 10 free throws down the stretch, showing extreme composure and holding on for the win, 80-77.

Offensively, the Wildcats were led by junior Bailey Board with team high 23 points, going 7 for 9 from the free throw line, while Senior Hunter Buttram added 21 points, went 5 for 8 from the three point line, grabbed 5 rebounds and went 2 for 2 from the free throw line. Two very big ones, made with 7.7 seconds to go.

"We shot the ball very well as a team, especially from the free throw line down the stretch when we needed them," said Buttram. "It feels great to be a senior on this team. I love these guys and I'm just glad I could contribute to help my team win. It was a great team win with Breckinridge being top in our region. I just hope we keep getting better and keep winning."

The Wildcats shot an amazing 88% from the free throw line, 50% from the field, and a crazy 69% from three point range.

​The Wildcats saw a total of four players in double figures, with a very solid team effort all around. 

Senior Cuban Sowders fouled out, but added 14 points, and calmly hit 8 out of 9 free throws. 

Junior Caleb Skaggs finished with 16 points, shooting 4/5 from three point range and hitting all 4 of his free throws during the final two minutes of the game.

"It means a lot to come out with a statement win over Breckinridge," Skaggs said. "They were preseason number one in the region and we love being the underdog. Nobody was giving us a chance, so we wanted to start out with a statement win." 

Also helping the cause was junior Iszic Blankenship with 4 points and 2 rebounds, and senior Jarrod Hines added 2 points.

The Wildcats will travel to Cumberland County this Saturday in a girl/boy doubleheader. Girl's action is scheduled to begin at 3pm with the boys tip off immediately afterward.

Laney Meredith story
Darren Doyle photos
ECHS Senior Lady Cat golfer Kayla Meredith signed her letter of commitment to play golf at Midway University, located in Midway, Kentucky, in front of a large crowd at Edmonson County High School today.

It can be said that Kayla is one of the most successful golfers from Edmonson County as she has competed in many local, regional, and state tournaments. As a senior, she was named to the All Region 4 Team, a top 8 finisher and a top 4 finisher, which qualified her for the KHSAA state competition. This year, she finished 5th at the All "A" State Tournament and 44th overall in the state while also recieving the KHSAA Leachman Buick GMC Scholarship, given to only one senior Kentucky girl's tournament participant each year.

​"It is an amazing feeling to be on a team of such a high level," Kayla said. "It's been an honor to play side by side the last few years with my fellow teammates and I'm even more excited to get to know my new team. It feels so great to finally have accomplished my biggest dream...to play college golf." 

"We always want any athlete to be successful both in the classroom and the sport in which they participate," said ECHS Athletic Director Kyle Pierce. "Kayla excels in both, and that has led to her opportunity to play at the collegiate level. There is a big change from high school to college, but Kayla has the tools to make it once she gets there. Hopefully, this will spark some interest in our girls golf program and allow some younger girls to see the possibilities of pursuing golf in the future."

Midway University Head Coach Otis Smith feels Kayla will fit in well with the other girls and the family environment that Midway University offers. "I'm looking for good people, good students, good golfers, and I think she has all three. I'm looking for her to help Midway University get to the next level." 

Lady Cat Assistant Golf Coach Granville Meredith addressed the crowd. "It has truly been a blessing to watch Kayla develop her golf abilities over the past 6 years and to know that today she is realizing her accomplishments to play golf at the next level, while getting an education," he said.

​Athletic Director Pierce summed up the day by saying, "Kayla has been a tremendous contributor to our Athletic Department. She has led our girls golf program to new heights, and she also works with the girls basketball team. Her senior year of golf was so consistent. She just kept getting better and that is a testament to the work ethic she has. Now she will finish out her senior year, graduate, and move on to Midway with the chance to be extremely successful. Kayla gets along with people and people like being around her. She will be successful in whatever she chooses to do."

Darren Doyle
The Edmonson County Wildcat basketball team hopes to have a full crowd at ECHS tonight as they kickoff the 2015-16 season against Breckinridge County. Head Coach Mike McClintic, or "Coach Mac," as he's more commonly known, sat down with us and shared his expectations with this year's team.

Coach Mac said that not only did the team lose some great teammates from last year, they also lost good leaders off the floor as well. Leadership that the coach said has already carried over to this year's five seniors.

Coach Mac said there will be more man-to-man defense this year, something that has been a key in practice. "It looks a lot better than what we really anticipated at this point, and it's coming along just fine."

Three point shooting is something that he said needs some work. "It's not where we want it to be, we didn't shoot the ball well from the three in our two scrimmage games, but we're also trying to get the ball inside, and I think we're doing a good job of that."

He also said that after watching replays of the scrimmages against Allen and Green Counties, defensive rebounding also needed a little work, although there was an improvement between the two games.

Coach Mac also had plenty of positives to talk about, too. "I thought we handled the ball really well, our turnovers haven't been too bad. Green County put some pressure on us and we were able to handle the ball and get some easy buckets, so even with losing some kids that could really handle the ball last year, we're very happy with that right now."

Scrimmages are one thing, the season opener at home is another, especially when it's against the number one pre-ranked team in the region, which is tonight against Breckinridge County.

"We expect lots of dribble-drives from them," coach said. "They have a great ball handler, a great shooter, and a 6'7" kid that can come out on the floor, shoot the three, and then they have a big kid inside, so it's going to be a matchup that we have to be concerned with. It''ll be a challenge."

Any coach will tell you that you can only go one game at a time, and an entire season's expectations are sometimes hard to list before the season's first tip, however, Coach Mac said he and his staff have clear expectations for this Wildcat team. 

"We want to improve as the year goes on and be close to our full potential by January. That's when district play starts. Our district is going to be very competitive and when it comes tournament time, we want to be at our peak."

Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30pm as things get started with the JV team, with the varsity game beginning immediately afterward. You can listen to the live broadcast tonight on Wildcats Live, only on EdmonsonVoice.com,  as the guys bring you all the play-by-play action.

Darren Doyle, story and photos
The Lady Cats came out with great hustle and intensity to set the early pace for last night's game against the Logan County Lady Cougars, as they won their home and season opener 66-57.

Season openers are always emotional, and this one was turned up a notch without Head Coach Kevin Jackson in the gym. Jackson served the first game of a three-game suspension for being ejected in a scrimmage at Adair last week. 

"We won that game for Coach Jackson," said senior Jhonna Basil. "We knew it was killing him not being able to be there and that win was for him."

​Basil scored 15 points and grabbed 6 rebounds in the contest.

Senior Center Tori Browning said much of the same. "He was fighting for us and we wanted to fight back and win that one for him," she said. "I thought we came out with a lot of energy in the first half and that helped us. I felt that we played better defensively as well. They were a really tall team, but we defended them well."

ECHS was able to gather a comfortable 21 point lead at halftime, but Logan County wasn't ready to start the bus just yet as they whittled their way back into the game, cutting the deficit to just 6 points with about 3 minutes to go in the game. 

"I thought during the first half we were really energized," said Coach Barry Booth. "In the third quarter we kinda gave out a little, we're not real deep," he said. "When Logan County started making that run, we made a few mistakes, but gosh-dog, we got four sophomores, so we're going to make a few mistakes, but that's a great win against a really good basketball team."

Sophomore Caitlin Simon led the way for the Lady Cats with 22 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, and made 10 of 12 from the free throw line.

"I think we were all really nervous and sad that Coach Jackson couldn't be there with us last night and it wasn't for a good reason," Simon said. "That made us want to get the win for him even more." 

Simon noted that Coach Jackson wrote a message on the dry erase board in the locker room that she said really fired the team up. "I'm just proud of my team last night, we all stepped up and played together and supported each other."

Also helping in the cause was sophomore guard Peyton Martin who added 13 points and 5 assists. "I don't think we could have played anymore as a team last night," Martin said. "I know there was a lot of pressure on Coach Booth, but he kept us focused." She also said that as soon as the game ended, Jackson texted all the girls and congratulated them on the win, before they had even changed out of their jerseys.

Senior Racheal Duncan nailed three 3-pointers, with a total of 9 points, Katlin Collins added 4, Senior Madelyne Taylor added 2 and Senior Tori Browning added one point.

The Lady Cats will travel to Warren East for their next game on Thursday, December 3rd, but the game will not be featured on the WildcatsLive broadcast. 

The ECHS boys will open their season tonight against Breckinridge County at home. JV game is scheduled for a 5:30pm tip-off.