Lady Cats Fall to Butler County 46-35

Annie Kiper puts up a shot against Butler County.

Darren Doyle, story: Madison Doyle, photos:
The Lady Cats fell to Butler County tonight in Morgantown as the Lady Bears clinched the top seed in the upcoming district tournament. Butler County won 46-35.

The Lady Cats jumped out to an 11-3 start in the first quarter, holding the Lady Bears to 1 for 10 shooting; however, Butler County responded by shooting 8 for 10 in the second quarter and took a 21-18 lead at the half.

Callie Webb lays the ball up against Butler County.

Cariann Williams shoots over a Butler County defender.

The Lady Cats got a couple back in the third quarter and trailed 30-31 going into the fourth. Butler County pulled away down the stretch and secured the win the in the final minute and a half.

Lily Jayne Vincent shoots over two Lady Bear defenders.

Coach Bart Weaver said it came down to struggling on the offensive end, as they have much of this season.

"I really thought the game got physical after the first quarter and we just didn't respond very well," he said. "Whether it was referee'd or officiated right, I don't know but they were letting it get really physical and we kind of took a step back. That was discouraging. We were up 11-3 and we had a runout but I called a timeout because we had a girl on her knees and I was trying to save the possession, but it seemed like after that, it went downhill."

Weaver said sometimes you just have to credit the other team.

"I'm going to give all the credit to Butler. They outplayed us," he said. "They wanted it more. They outplayed us, they out-coached us, out-whatever-us."

Edmonson County falls to 17-7 on the season and 4-2 in district play. Butler County improved to 17-8 and 6-0 in district.

The Lady Cats are scheduled to take on Russell County tomorrow at home at 3PM. Next week will be the end of the regular season with district tournament play starting Monday, February 20th.

Scoring for the Lady Cats was Annie Kiper with 8, Cariann Willams with 7 and 8 rebounds, Callie Webb had 6, Lily Vincent had 4 and 9 rebounds, Kennadi Swihart had 4, Emma White had 3, Jenna Cook had 3, and Riley Roy added 1.