Lady Cats Perfect in Rafferty's/Double Dogs Caveland Classic; Defeat Glasgow 58-45 in Final Game

Edmonson County sophomore center Cariann Williams (30) is fouled by visiting Glasgow in the Raffery/Double Dogs Caveland Classic Friday December 22 in Brownsville.

Photos and story by Joseph Barkoff:
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It was a long nine days for Edmonson County High School Lady Cats basketball. Six games in nine days, with the final three games on back-to-back-to-back nights in the 17th Rafferty’s/Double Dog Caveland Classic hosted by Edmonson County High School in Brownsville.
 
The Lady Cats (11-1) went 5-1 on their busy week leading up to Christmas, suffering their first, and only loss so far in the season to a Franklin-Simpson team thought of as possibly the best in the state in their division.
 
“I can live with that,” Edmonson head coach Jody Booth said of their one loss in the six-game stretch.
 
In the final game of their six games in nine day stretched they faced Glasgow High School in the Rafferty’s/Double Dogs Caveland Classic Friday, December 22nd in Brownsville.
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Edmonson County junior guard Kennadi Swihart (12) finishes a layup against visiting Glasgow in the Raffery/Double Dogs Caveland Classic Friday December 22 in Brownsville.

Edmonson County sophomore center Cariann Williams (30) shoots a basket against visiting Glasgow in the Raffery/Double Dogs Caveland Classic Friday December 22 in Brownsville.

“I feel like we played really good tonight,” Booth said after the game. “Last night we struggled closing the game out in the fourth quarter and that was the message going into tonight that we need to play for each other.”
 
“They played free tonight,” he said.
 
If a mistake was made, his team didn’t dwell on it, and just moved onto the next play, Booth explained.
 
“We hit our open teammates,” he said. “We set our teammates up.”
 
The Lady Cats drew first blood with a bucket from freshman guard Shelby Sowders, but then the Lady Cats seemed to stall out as the Scotties went on a 9-point run.
 
Perhaps the previous days’ events had taken their toll, with a handful of turnovers and effort minus their usual precision, the Lady Cats clawed back to within 1 point by the end of the first quarter.
 
It was 13-12 in favor of the Scotties, but the Lady Cats were about to get another wind.
 
“I don’t know what it is about the slow starts,” Booth said.
 
But he doesn’t freak out when it happens either, he said, “because I trust my team.”
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Edmonson County junior forward Maggie Cassady (15) fights for a loose ball against visiting Glasgow in the Raffery/Double Dogs Caveland Classic Friday December 22 in Brownsville.

Edmonson County junior forward Julie Norris (21) fights for a loose ball against visiting Glasgow in the Raffery/Double Dogs Caveland Classic Friday December 22 in Brownsville.

The Scotties opened the second with the ball, but after one set of turnovers from each team, Sowders scored the first bucket of the new quarter, again. 
 
Taking the lead, again, to open the quarter, it was now with the score 14-13 in favor of the Lady Cats.
 
Two plays later, Sowders, after crossing into her offensive zone, no one from Glasgow stepped up to defend her so she dropped a three-pointer from the top left.
 
The next play, Edmonson junior guard Kennadi Swihart sank a three from the deep left corner and it was now 20-13 in favor of the Lady Cats.
 
It was a 16-point run on Glasgow for Edmonson before the Scotties would move the score board in their favor again. By then, there was just over a minute remaining in the first half with Edmonson up 27-15.
 
Edmonson outscored Glasgow 18 to 3 in the second quarter and the half ended with Edmonson up 30-15 over Glasgow.
 
It was 48-27 by the end of the third quarter and while the Scotties got within 13 points by the final buzzer, Edmonson County held on, handily, for the win 58-45.
 
In the fourth quarter Booth acknowledged their lead they had built caused them to get “a little sloppy,” he said.
 
The unofficial stats curated by the Edmonson Voice Live Stream had Edmonson County sophomore center Cariann Williams with another double-double night scoring 16 points and hauling in 13 rebounds plus five or six blocked shots. Swihart had 15 points and 5 rebounds, Sowders had 9 points, 5 rebounds, junior guard Jenna Cook had 8 points and junior forward Julie Norris had 3 points with 6 rebounds.
 
Edmonson shot 60 percent to Glasgow’s 41 percent from the field for the evening.

Swihart feels the tournament went pretty well for both her and the team, she said. 

Not expecting to stall out and rest on their success so far, the team hopes to continue to improve with their short time off before they resume play next year and continue their momentum in January, Booth said.

“This tournament has really helped us get back as team and get closer again,” Swihart said.

There will be people who doubt them, she said. But they can’t get settled or get big heads about it. They just need to keep playing their game and prove to folks they are the team they say they are. 
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“I’m really proud of our girls and how we’ve been doing and how our season has gone so far,” she said. “No one thought we was going to do this good and we have proved so many people wrong.”
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Edmonson defeated Todd County Central High School 55-52 in the first game of the tournament on Wednesday Dec. 20 after a battle, holding on at the end.

​On day two of the tournament, Thurs. Dec. 21, they defeated Apollo E-Gals 53-39.

Edmonson County (11-1) takes the court again in the new year January 2nd at home in Brownsville at 6PM against Muhlenberg County (1-7).