Girls Battle But Can't Overcome Butler County

Lady Bears Top Lady Cats 48-37

Annie Kiper (50) dribbles against a Butler County defender.

Darren Doyle, story: Madison Doyle, photos:
While it goes down in the books as a loss, Coach Bart Weaver said the effort and overall performance of the Edmonson County Lady Cats was at least something that wouldn't keep him awake last night. The Lady Cats led only once during the contest (10-8), but Edmonson County was never really out of the game until the very end. It was also the first game for new point guard Annie Kiper, a transfer from Grayson County.

"I can go home and sleep tonight," he said. "I haven't slept a lot here in the last month. It's the first game with her, (Kiper) and if we make free throws, we were right there for the win."

The record and the stat sheets tell only part of the story. They don't always reflect the entire effort, decision making, team work, and overall feel for a game. Kiper adds some much-needed ball handling for the Lady Cats, who have struggled with turnovers throughout the season. That's largely in part to several players that have had to take on new roles this season.

Lily Jayne Vincent looks to shoot against Butler County.

Edmonson County struggled from the free throw line, hitting only 10-21 (48%) for the game. As coach said, had the girls executed at the free throw line, the outcome could have been different; however, games aren't won and lost by the things that could've been.

"At two different times in the second half we cut it to six," Weaver said. "Maybe five or six, then we come down and we make two or three turnovers in two or three possessions. It's plagued us all year, but the biggest thing tonight was 10 for 21 from the free throw line and it killed us tonight. It kept the differential in scoring because we couldn't hit free throws, but I'm proud of them. It's the first game with Annie being our little floor general. We're only going to get better--this is the first game they've played together."

Edmonson County was led by Cariann Williams with 15 points, 13 rebounds, and 6 blocked shots. Hallie Cassady had 7 points and 3 rebounds, Kiper had 6 points, Lily Vincent added 4 points and 10 rebounds, Paige Wolfe had 4 points, and Emma White added one point.

The Lady Cats are now 6-12 on the season and are scheduled to host Clinton County on Monday at ECHS for a girls JV/V game with JV action starting at 6PM.