Lady Cats Advance To District Finals With Win Over Butler County

Madison Harrison rips the ball away from Butler County in round one of the district tournament.

Edmonson Defeats Butler County 56-24 In 27th Win Of The Season

Darren Doyle, story: Madison Doyle photos:
Edmonson County has advanced to the district finals once again after their big 32 point win over Butler County in round one of the District 12 Tournament, which was held at Trinity High School.

The Lady Cats missed several shots early but Coach Kevin Jackson said he felt like they were good looks that simply didn't fall; however, once the shots started to go in, they kept on going. Senior Peyton Martin's three, 3-pointers and another one by Chanley Logsdon helped Edmonson County gain a 16-2 lead after the first quarter. Edmonson County's defense forced seven first quarter turnovers against the Lady Bears.

Peyton Martin drives against Butler County.

Martin led the way for Edmonson County with 18 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals. Her 12-first half points helped Edmonson compile a 32-12 lead at the half and a big 17-5 run third quarter put the game out of reach for the Lady Bears.

Senior Caitlin Simon also found success around the three point line, knocking down three tonight and finishing with 17 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 assists.

While the point totals were mostly gathered by the duo, which are number one (Simon) and number 4 (Martin) on the all-time Lady Cat scoring list, seven other players made their way into the scoring book. Scoring, however, wasn't what on Jackson's mind after the game.

"I gotta give our defense credit tonight," he said. "Katlin Collins takes the best player that the other team has every night. She held Murphy to only 8 points tonight and three of those were at the free throw line. She takes on that best player every night and she loves it. Some kids wouldn't relish that role, but she does. I thought Chanley did a really good job on Cardwell. She's their second best scorer and she (only) had two points tonight." 

Caitlin Simon dribbles against Butler County's Kasidy Graham.

Skylar Lewis puts up two points against Butler County.

Chanley Logsdon finished with 5 points, Madison Harrison and Emma Rose Vincent each added 4, and Skylar Lewis, Katlin Collins, Abby Alexander, and Katie Lindsey added 2 points each.

The win now puts the Lady Cats at 27-4, which is the best girls' record in school history. It also guarantees them a place in the Region 3 Tournament that will be held next week; however, the focus now is cutting down the nets for the first girls' district championship since 1998, also under Jackson.

"It's been 20 years and it's not easy," said Jackson. "I don't care if we play Whitesville or if we play Grayson County, it will not be easy on Thursday night. But I think this group is poised enough, they're mature enough, they're hungry enough, I think they're ready to do something like cutting down some nets. I'm telling you, it won't be easy. It'll be a dogfight, but we'll show up Thursday night, get a game plan together, practice tomorrow and Wednesday, and hit it again Thursday night. We want to wish the boys good luck tomorrow night. They were having a good practice when we left. Coach Mac and Coach Weaver do a great job and I want to wish them good luck as they come down here and play and I really feel like they've got just as good a chance as anybody to win the district this year."

The Wildcats will take on Trinity on Tuesday night in round one of the boys' action at 6pm. The game will be broadcast live on the WildcatsLive audio stream on the Edmonson Voice. They must win to continue their season.

The girls will face the Lady Cougars Thursday night at 7pm for the District 12 Championship.