Lady Cats Top McLean, Look Ahead To Senior Night, District Tournament

Peyton Martin makes her way through all five McLean County defenders in a 54-40 Lady Cat win.

Darren Doyle, story: Madison Doyle photos:
A solid team effort helped the Lady Cats overcome McLean County 54-40 last night on the road which was also backed by a 25 point performance by point guard Peyton Martin. Although Coach Kevin Jackson saw things as a bit sloppy at times, he agreed that his team still responded well to the long bus ride to McLean County and combatted the focus that the Lady Cougars had on their senior night.

"Their kids were really focused in pregame and I really worried how we'd respond, and I thought we did respond, but again, it looked like we'd been out of sync," Jackson said. "With school being out for three or four days, I think it affected us a little bit. We were going to take off tomorrow, but I said we're going to practice and get this thing back to where it was two or three weeks ago and we're going to be ready going into district tournament. I don't want any excuses or any reason for someone to say we're not doing everything we possibly can."

Edmonson County started off with a 16-11 lead and a big second quarter allowed them to take a 33-18 lead into the locker room at the half. The Lady Cats had some defensive and rebounding break downs at times, but McLean struggled to knock down shots and the EC was able to convert on the offensive end.

Skylar Lewis puts up a shot against McLean County on Feb. 14, 2017.

In addition to Martin's 26 points, she added 5 rebounds and 6 assists while hitting all 7 of her free throws. Caitlin Simon had 9 points and 6 rebounds, Skylar Lewis added 8 points, Katlin Collins had 8 points, and Maddie Cline and Lauren Ballance added 2 points each.

The Lady Cats are scheduled to host Greenwood Friday night at ECHS for the last regular season game of the year which will be senior night. While that is always an emotional night for teams, Jackson is focused on next week's district tournament that is scheduled to begin on Monday night against Butler County at 7:30pm in Morgantown.

"You can win 21 ballgames and get beat in the district tournament and people think you've had a terrible year," said Jackson. "I want these kids to experience what they did last year: winning in the district tournament and playing in the regional tournament. I still feel like we're one of the 6 or 7 teams in the region that's got a shot to win it all, but in order to win it all you have to win the first game of the district. It's the most pressure-packed game of the season."

The Lady Cats are now 21-7 on the year. It makes only the fourth team in school history to achieve 20 or more wins in a single season. 

Senior night vs. Greenwood tip off is scheduled for 6pm. You can listen to the live broadcast on WildcatsLive, only on EdmonsonVoice.com.