Lady Cats Earn Runner-Up with 2-1 Record in Rafferty's/Double Dogs Caveland Classic

Edmonson County sophomore point guard Shelby Sowders (50) lines up a shot against visiting Marshall County in the Rafferty's/Double Dogs Caveland Classic Championship game Saturday December 28 in Brownsville.

Story and photos by Joseph Barkoff:
​The Edmonson County Lady Cats knew it was going to be a tight match in the Championship game against visiting Marshall County Lady Marshals in the finals of the Rafferty’s/Double Dogs Caveland Classic Saturday, December 28th in Brownsville.
 
If the route Edmonson County has taken against opponents this season was read about them in a hiking guide, there would be a user warning saying only advanced hikers should attempt to challenge themselves with the path down the 2024-25 season.
 
An example of the Lady Cats' hike, had them face a team that had to leave the state to lose, in the opponent Marshall County.
 
According to the scuttlebutt around the court, coaches, players and fans have all said something to the effect, Marshall County is a top 25 team in Kentucky.
 
Marshall has only lost twice so far in the season, once in Kansas and once in Arkansas, but no teams in Kentucky have found the secret path to victory against them.
 
The first half ended with junior power forward Cariann Williams stealing the ball and heaving a prayer from Marshall’s 3-point line, but only down 4 points, 25-21.
 
“Yeah, I can’t say anything except just how proud of our girls and it stinks losing, but when you lose to a team like that and you got a chance at the end,” Edmonson County head coach Jodi Booth said after the game on the Edmonson Voice Live Post Game Show.
 
There were times when Marshall would go on a run and Edmonson could have easily folded and given up, Booth said.
 
“And we didn’t do that,” he said. 

Edmonson County junior power forward Cariann Williams (30) puts up a jumper against visiting Marshall County in the Rafferty's/Double Dogs Caveland Classic Championship game Saturday December 28 in Brownsville.

Edmonson County senior shooting guard Jenna Cook (3) finishes a fast break with a layup against visiting Marshall County in the Rafferty's/Double Dogs Caveland Classic Championship game Saturday December 28 in Brownsville.

​On the last play of the game, down three with 1.3 seconds left, sophomore point guard Shelby Sowders was on the line with two free throws. After making the first, she intentionally missed the second in an attempt for a fellow Lady Cat to snag the rebound and put it up for a tie and overtime.
 
The kind of play teams only talk about when they need one. 
 
There was Williams and senior power forward Julie Norris talking about how they would get the rebound and what to do while near the sideline, Booth said.

They were able to grab the offensive rebound off the purposely-missed free throw from Sowders but the last second shot would not fall for the Lady Cats.
 
Despite losing 50-48, Edmonson County, traveling through their difficult season, earned Runner-Up in the Caveland Classic Tournament.
 
“I just loved every little part about this game,” Booth said. “It’s good for us.”
 
Overall, on the Tournament, he would give himself and his team and A-, he said.
 
“We took care of business and made it to the Championship,” Booth said. “We did little things a lot better. We got better every game. And we played tougher teams every game.
 
“I feel great about it,” Sowders said about the loss after the game. “They’re a really, really good team. Some say they are 25 in the state, and for us to stay with them for that long and to only lose by 2, I think it was a great loss.”
 
Her favorite thing from the Tournament was the teamwork and battling each game she said.

Edmonson County senior shooting guard Kennadi Swihart (12) moves the ball up court against visiting Marshall County in the Rafferty's/Double Dogs Caveland Classic Championship game Saturday December 28 in Brownsville.

Edmonson County senior shooting guard Jenna Cook (3) looks for an outlet against visiting Marshall County in the Rafferty's/Double Dogs Caveland Classic Championship game Saturday December 28 in Brownsville.

​Booth sees the games before the New Year, as part one, and after is part two. He feels teams who maybe had it easy in the first part may not work as hard because their confidence is high.
 
“We are gonna continue to lift,” Booth said. “We’re gonna continue to work on our conditioning. We are gonna continue to get better on the court and do the little things we gotta do, and then, the second part of our season we are gonna have some more momentum going our way and that’s gonna carry us into the post season.”
 
They are going to use the first part of the season and roll into January ready for more, he said.
 
“We are using every game as practice,” Booth said. “Until we get to February.”
 
The teams that Edmonson County has lost to so far this year, are winning 76 precent of their games, according to stats Booth has run, he said.
 
“The Caveland Classic, it’s a historic tournament,” Booth said. “It has been going on since I was a little kid.”
 
His favorite thing from the Tournament was the use of vocal leadership between his players, sticking together and competing, he said.
 
There are things they can still fix, he said. But the Caveland Classic experience was positive.
 
Some stats on the evening had Williams scoring 18 points with 9 rebounds, senior shooting guard Kennadi Swihart had 11 points with 3 rebounds, Sowders had 7 points with 2 rebounds, senior shooting guard Jenna Cook had 7 points, senior power forward Maggie Cassidy had 3 points with a rebound and Norris scored 2 while hauling in 3 rebounds.
 
Edmonson County (4-7) opens the New Year and second part of their season on the road at 4:30 p.m. January 2 against Hancock County (5-5) in Lewisport.