Both Lady Cats And Wildcats Win At Cumberland County

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.