Bittersweet Night For Lady Cats As They Fall To Grayson, Simon Scores 1000th Point

Caitlin Simon scores her 1000th point as an ECHS Lady Cat against Grayson County on Friday night.

Caitlin Simon is presented the game ball from ECHS Athletic Director Kyle Pierce.

Even though the game went down in the score book as a loss, there were still plenty of smiles at ECHS last night as sophomore guard Caitlin Simon scored her 1000th point as the Lady Cats fell 61-48 to the Grayson County Lady Cougars.

It's only the second time in 40 years that a Lady Cat has accomplished the feat as a sophomore, with Stephanie Dennison being the first during the 1992-93 season. 

"It feels great to accomplish the goal and I'm really excited," Simon said. "But I'm also thankful for my team for all the assists, especially my best friend Peyton Martin for helping me get those final two points. Now, I'm just hoping all these points start adding up to team wins."

Coach Kevin Jackson said the subject was never mentioned as a team coming into last night's game. "Basketball is a team sport and Caitlin is a great player, everybody knows that," he said. "We didn't want to take away from the team concept, but I think it was a big relief to Caitlin." 

Jackson was still very clear to credit Simon for the accomplishment. "I was excited for her, and I could see the relief from her when she scored that one bucket. I know she'd rather have had it in a win, but still a great accomplishment for her."

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Simon led the Lady Cats in scoring with 22 points and grabbed 5 rebounds. EC got off to a slow start, trailing 20-4 after the first quarter.

The Lady Cats outscored the Lady Cougars 12-9 in the second quarter to cut their deficit to 29-16 at the half. In the locker room, Jackson said they discussed fighting for loose balls and rebounds, which led to a much better showing for Edmonson County in the second half.

"You can't get behind 15-20 points against a good team and expect to pull out a win. You can have all the X's and O's you want, but a lot of times it just comes down to fight and determination," Jackson said. "Our kids definitely showed that in the second half, and we hung with them."

The Lady Cats were able to match the Lady Cougars point-for-point in the second half with 32 each, but the first quarter proved to be to much of a difference to overcome as Grayson County hit free throws down the stretch as the Lady Cougars went on to win 61-48.

Also adding to the offense was Jhonna Basil 9 points, Madelyne Taylor had 8, while Browning and Martin each had 6.

The Lady Cats will travel to Metcalfe County on Tuesday, Feb 2 for a girl/boy doubleheader. Tipoff is scheduled for 6pm. You can listen to the live broadcast on WildcatsLive, only on EdmonsonVoice.com, your number one hometown source for local news, sports, and info.