The Wayne County High School Lady cats picked up two more wins this past week as they defeated Richland and Culleoka to stand at 22 – 4 on the year. The Wildcats lost to the Raiders on Tuesday, but bounced back on Friday to take a buzzer-beater win over the Culleoka Warriors. The ‘Cats are now 12 – 11 on the year. The teams will be traveling to Hampshire in a postponed contest on Thursday night, then they will travel to Santa Fe on Friday and Mt. Pleasant on Monday. WCHS will celebrate Senior Night 2022 on Tuesday night the 8th as they host Hampshire.
Against the Lady Raiders of Richland, the Lady cat press did its job, forcing 8 first quarter turnovers to take an 19 – 3 lead. The margin increased to 45 – 17 at the half. They went on to take the win 67 – 41. Blair Baugus led the Lady cats with 17 points, 10 rebounds, 2 steals, and an assist. Jac Keaton also hit for double figures with 10 points and had 2 rebounds, 3 steals, and 2 assists. Savanna McClain and Cambree Camfield each scored 9 points. Camfield had 2 rebounds, a steal, and an assist, while McClain had 3 rebounds and an assist. Lauren Bryant scored 8 points and had a rebound, 2 steals, and 3 assists. Michaela Gallian and Isabel Luedeke each had 4 points, with Gallian grabbing 4 boards, 2 steals, and an assist. Luedeke had 2 rebounds. Emma Bryant had 3 points with a rebound, and Kenzie Griggs had 3 points with a rebound, a steal, and 3 assists. Jamie Lauren Hickman had a rebound, and Bailey Kilburn and Annie Lee each had a steal. Lauren Prater had 2 boards. The Lady cats shot 50% from the field and forced 20 turnovers, scoring 27 points off those turnovers.
The Wildcats got off to a slow start against the Raiders of Richland, scoring only 9 points in the opening quarter. They fell behind 24 – 15 by the half. In the third, a Sayler Skelton basket and then a steal and a basket at the 5:57 mark cut the margin to 26 – 21. The ‘Cats got no closer, as they only scored once more in the third. They fell by the final of 52 – 38.
Tyler Moser scored 12 points to lead the ‘Cats as they shot 33% from the field and were out-rebounded 32 – 24. He had 9 rebounds and an assist. Cooper Shamer scored 9 points and had an assist. Ethan Camfield had 5 points, with 3 rebounds, a block, and an assist. Sayler Skelton had 4 points and 2 rebounds. Landyn Prater scored 3 points with 4 boards, a block, a steal, and 3 assists, while Preston Stegall hit a three. Eli McClain scored 2 points and had 2 rebounds and 2 steals. Jesse Dixon had 2 rebounds.
The Lady cats took a 17 – 5 first quarter lead, and extended it to 34 – 11 at the half. They went on to take the “mercy rule” win, 70 – 28, with Blair Baugus leading the way with 18 points. She also had 11 rebounds. Jac Keaton had 9 points with 4 steals, and Annie Lee scored 8 points with a rebound, a steal, and 2 assists. Lauren Bryant had 7 points with 2 rebounds, a steal, and 3 assists, and Emma Bryant had 6 points. Michaela Gallian added 6 points and had 5 boards and 3 assists. Savanna McClain scored 5 points and had 8 rebounds, a steal, and an assist. Cambree Camfield, Bailey Kilburn, Isabel Luedeke, Celia Powell, and Lauren Prater each scored 2 points. Camfield had 3 rebounds and a steal, while Kilburn had a rebound. Luedeke had 2 steals, Powell had a rebound and a steal, and Prater had 3 assists. Kylee Brewer had 2 boards and 2 steals to go with one point. Kenzie Griggs had a rebound, a steal, and 3 assists. The Lady cats forced 26 turnovers and won the rebounding battle, 35 – 24.
The Wildcats fell behind 12 – 10 after one quarter of action against Culleoka, but fought back to lead 26 – 22 at the half as Justice Bell hit a three with 36 seconds left in the first half to up the lead. They went up by as many as 9 points in the third, but saw the margin cut to 36 – 34 with 2:41 left in the quarter. They went on to lead 40 – 36 at the three-quarter mark. In the fourth, a Culleoka 3 made it a one-point margin, 51 – 50, with 58.9 seconds left. Tyler Moser hit a pair of free throws with 57 seconds left to make it 53 – 50, but the Warriors answered with a basket to make it 53 – 52. The Wildcats got fouled, going to the line for two free throws. Cooper Shamer hit one of two to put the ‘Cats up 54 – 52. Culleoka again answered with a basket to tie the game. The ‘Cats came down, throwing up a desperation shot which was no good, but Shamer caught the rebound at the free throw line and hit a jumper for the game winning basket, 56 – 54.
Tyler Moser, Cooper Shamer, and Ethan Camfield each hit for double figures with 24, 16, and 11 points respectively. Moser had 5 boards and 3 steals, while Shamer had 3 rebounds, a steal, and 2 assists. Camfield also had 2 assists. Justice Bell scored 3 points and had block, Sayler Skelton scored 2 points and had 4 rebounds and an assist. Eli McClain had 4 rebounds, a block, and 3 assists, and Landyn Prater had a rebound. As the regular season winds down, the teams will work to improve their records and prepare for tournament time. “WORK HARD ‘CATS AND LADY CATS!”
