Lady Cats Battle Back From 16 Point Deficit To Beat Bowling Green In Overtime

Edmonson Voice Sports:
After a couple of hard-nosed losses to two of the top teams in the state, including the defending state champion, the Lady Cats faced another tough opponent at their final game of the Queen of the Commonwealth Tournament at Bullitt East. This time, Edmonson County came out the winner in a tough match against the Bowling Green Lady Purples, 82-76 in overtime thriller.

Led by the senior duo of Caitlin Simon (30 points, 6 rebounds) and Peyton Martin (24 points, 8 assists), the Lady Cats found a way to battle back after being down 40-24 at halftime.

Edmonson began a short run late in the third as they slightly cut BG's lead to 60-47, but the fourth quarter was a different story. The Lady Cats turned up the defensive pressure with a full court, run-and-jump trap that forced Bowling Green into some turnovers and Edmonson was able to capitalize with transition baskets. Edmonson County leads the state in allowing the fewest point per game, at 31.5.

"We've gotten off to some slow starts in our last three games and you can't hardly pull out a win when you do that against good teams," said Head Coach Kevin Jackson. "Our kids started a run there in the third and they just kept fighting with their defense. We couldn't have done this without the defensive effort these girls laid out there tonight."

The Lady Cats spread the floor and found success with Simon driving to the basket. She either scored, hit free throws from drawing fouls, or kicked out for an open shot. She hit 12 of 12 free throws in the second half, including all ten in the 4th/OT. Martin also saw success with her dribble penetration and points around the basket when she wasn't dishing out assists. 

"They're the Batman and Robin of this team," said Jackson. "We can't say enough about them."

Edmonson County chipped away at the lead and cut their deficit to 72-70 with 2:31 left to play, forcing a Bowling Green timeout. They refused to go away and managed to tie it 75 all as regulation came to an end. 

The Lady Cat defense kept Bowling Green from scoring a single field goal in OT as Edmonson went on to win, 82-76.

Both Chanley Logsdon and Lauren Ballance fouled out for Edmonson County while Simon and Katlin Collins finished the game with 4 fouls each.

"They just kept fighting," said Jackson. "They took it to the hole and they hit their free throws. I would've been proud with their effort even without the win, but it's much sweeter with the win. It's also not just about one or two. We got valuable playing time from about nine players, so what an effort. What a great Christmas present these kids gave me."

Also helping the Lady Cats was Collins with 9 pts and 5 rebs, Logsdon with 9 pts and 4 rebs, Madison Harrison with 4 pts and 4 rebs, Emma Vincent with 4 pts, and Abby Alexander added 2 pts. 

The Lady Cats are now 8-2 and won't play again until next week's Caveland Classic. Click here for all the info.