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Sydney
The Ladycats ended their season last Tuesday night in the 38th District Tournament as they faced the host team Nicholas County.
Earlier in the season, the two teams played at Pendleton with Nicholas County getting out of the gym with a four point victory.
Coach Jenna O’Hara said going into the game her team had prepared by going over scouting reports and game film. She and her staff wanted the team as prepared as possible.
The Ladycats took the floor with the hope and determination of coming away with a win and advancing to the championship game.
In the first quarter, Pendleton County went 3 of 10 from the floor and had trouble getting the ball through the net. Their post defense was strong, limiting the Lady Jackets to only one field goal in the quarter, but allowed three 3-pointers from the perimeter.
Again in the second quarter, the Ladycat defense held tough but allowed the opponent to score from the arc as Autumn Adams drained three alone. Pendleton’s post players, which have been a strength all season were not having a good day as they combined for only five points in the half, leaving the score at the half Nicholas County 28-18.
In the third quarter, the Ladycats came out on a roll and outscored the Nicholas County 13-6 as Sydney Manor started driving the ball into the defense, picking up five points in the quarter; in fact she would be the only Ladycat to score in double digits for the game.
The Ladycats would fight back and get into the game, but every time they were close, a string of turnovers would occur, allowing the Lady Jackets to pull back into the lead. It seemed as though the Ladycats were not just fighting the other team but also themselves going 3-18 from the floor in the fourth quarter alone.
Free throw shooting has haunted this squad all season, and it reared its ugly head again as the team shot 2- 13 from the line for 23% and Nicholas County shot 57% going 11-19.
The Ladycats played hard, but just weren’t able to finish, falling to Nicholas County 49-38.
Coach O’Hara commented, looking back over the game, “Both teams came in prepared with a plan, and a part of our plan worked as we shut down Cleaver, but they had two other players step up for them tonight. Free throws have been a burden on us all season, and tonight wasn’t any different. It seemed the trend the whole game was that we would fight back, but just couldn’t get over the hump.”
Coach O’Hara and her staff were surely disappointed at the loss, but at the same time happy at the growth some players exhibited over the season. A major positive is that all three levels completed the season with winning records, Varsity 12-11, Junior Varsity 15-3, and Freshman 15-5. The future looks bright for the Ladycat program
Coach O‘Hara said in looking forward, “We will be getting back to work in a few weeks to prepare for the summer and the upcoming season. Don’t worry; our time is coming.”
The Ladycats will now start preparing for summer ball and hopefully be able to attend team camps to help get them prepared for next season.