Lady Cat Season Comes To End With Loss To Breckinridge in Region 3 Tournament

Lady Tigers Win 44-36

Four Lady Cats surround a Lady Tiger for a rebound attempt.

Darren Doyle, story: Madison Doyle, photos:
Despite a big third quarter run that held the Breckinridge County Lady Tigers to only two field goals, the Lady Cats' 2023 season came to and end tonight with a 44-36 loss to the Lady Tigers.

Breck jumped out to an 11-4 lead after the first quarter with the Lady Cats shooting only 2 for 10 from the field. Edmonson trailed 19-10 at the half with 14 turnovers.

Senior Callie Webb drives the basket against a Breckinridge County defender.

Edmonson County stayed in the locker room up until a minute to go at the half. They started the third with a foul and then a turnover but quickly turned things around. After a bucket from Breckinridge, Edmonson County went on a 9-0 run to tie the game at 23 with 1:45 left in the third, off an offensive rebound and put back from Lily Jayne Vincent. Breck ended the quarter with a 25-24 lead.

Emma White shoots against Breckinridge County.

Annie Kiper drives against a Breck defender.

Cariann Williams defends a Lady Tiger.

Lily Jayne Vincent puts up a shot in the 3rd Region tournament in the Owensboro Sportscenter.

Cariann Williams tied the score at 27 on her bucket and foul. She made her free throw with 7:15 to go in the game. It was Williams again on a put back of a Lady Cat miss with 6:40 to go. Her basket gave the Lady Cats their first and only lead of the ballgame. Breck regained the lead on their next possession and stayed in front 1-3 points until Williams once again scored to get the Lady Cats with two points with just over a minute to go. The Lady Tigers were able to run the clock and hit their free throws down the stretch to hang on for the win. Breck hit 9 consecutive foul shots as the game began to wind down. They were 23 of 29 from the line while the Lady Cats only shot 7 free throws (4/7).

Coach Bart Weaver said the outcome obviously wasn't what they wanted but he was proud of the fight from the Lady Cats.

"I'm so proud of them, man," Weaver said. "Coming out like that in the third. We talked at halftime, we were down 8 or so, but an 18-10 halftime score? That's our basketball."

Breckinridge is known for their fast transition offense as they score around 56 points per game, compared to 44 from the Lady Cats.

"I told them, let's just make a run right here, let's get back in this thing a shot at a time," he said.

"Overall, I'm just so proud of them. Nobody thought we'd win district and we did that. Everybody wrote us off against Breck and we made a game out of it. It's hard on me because of the seniors. I can't say enough about them. They've been leaders, they've picked us up when we were down, they've just done a tremendous job for us and it's just hard to say goodbye, but that's what I'm going to have to do here in a minute."

It was the final game for five seniors: Lily Jayne Vincent (4 points), Annie Kiper (2), Callie Webb, (6), Emma White (3), and Karina Dennison.

Freshman Cariann Williams led Edmonson County in scoring with 19 points. She also grabbed 9 rebounds. Also scoring was Riley Roy with 2 points.

Edmonson County shot 43% from the field on 15 of 35 shooting.

The Lady Cats finish their season with a record of 22-8 and the 2023 District Champions. It is their 4th district title in the past 6 years, and their third under Head Coach Bart Weaver.