The Wayne County High School Wildcats and Ladycats took wins over Frank Hughes last Tuesday night to advance to Region 6 -1A tournament action. The Ladycats went to Huntingdon on Friday and suffered a disappointing loss, 64 – 62, on a last second shot, after having as much as a 17 point lead. The Wildcats matched up with the War Eagles of West Carroll on Saturday and were eliminated from tourney play, 59 – 37. With the losses, basketball season comes to a close. The Wildcats finished the year 8 – 11, while the Ladycats finish 12 – 7.
The Ladycats got off to a fast, 19 – 0, first quarter start, in route to a mercy rule, 64 – 28, win with all Ladycat players seeing action. The Ladycats forced 40 turnovers on the night, 12 of which came in the first quarter. Cambree Camfield and Jac Keaton led the team in scoring with 11 points each. Camfield had a rebound and 4 steals, while Keaton had a rebound, 4 steals, and an assist. Lauren Bryant scored 9 points and had 3 rebounds, 4 steals, and an assist. Michaela Gallian had 8 points, 3 rebounds, a block, and 7 steals. Savanna McClain hit for 7 points with 9 rebounds, 6 steals, and 2 assists. Kylee Brewer added 6 points with 5 rebounds. Annie Lee scored 4 points and had 2 rebounds, 2 steals, an assist, and a blocked shot. Kelsey Carroll, Isabel Luedeke, Celia Powell, and Lauren Prater each had 2 points. Carroll had a steal, Luedeke had 3 rebounds and 2 steals, and Powell had a steal. Bailey Kilburn had a rebound, and Cimmie Willis blocked a shot. The Ladycats scored 33 points off the Lady Lion turnovers.
The Wildcats got off to a slow start against the Lions, managing only 9 points in the first period, but led, 9 – 8, at the end of one. In the second, they upped the margin to 37 – 18 by halftime. In the third, they held the Lions to only 6 points while scoring 17, and they coasted to a 66 – 49 win.
Clay Baugus, Tyler Moser, and Ethan Camfield led the ‘Cats with 21, 17, and 12 points respectively. Baugus had 5 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 assists, while Moser had 11 rebounds, a block, 4 steals, and 4 assists. Camfield added 4 rebounds, 3 steals, and an assist. Austin Whitson scored 5 points and had 2 rebounds and a steal. Landyn Prater had 4 points with 5 rebounds, 4 steals, and 4 assists. Gaynes Keaton scored 3 points and had 5 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 assists. Ryder Butler, Jesse Dixon, and Eli McClain each had 2 points. Dixon had a rebound, while McClain had 2 boards and a steal. The ‘Cats suffered 23 turnovers but led in rebounding, 35 – 26. They scored 29 points off of turnovers.
The Ladycats got off to a good start in the first quarter against the Huntingdon Fillies, leading 22 – 16 at the end of the period. Lauren Bryant hit for 8 points in the opening quarter, including a pair of three pointers. They went up by double digits, 39 -26 by the half as Michaela Gallian scored 10 points in the second quarter. The Ladycats nailed four three-pointers early in the third, with Bryant connecting on 3 of them, but Huntingdon trimmed the margin down to 10 towards the end of the quarter as the Ladycat offense disappeared and turnovers became the name of the game.
In the fourth, the Fillies cut the lead to 8, 60 – 52, on an offensive rebound and put back. The Ladycats turned the ball over, and Huntingdon cut it to 60 – 54, with 2:59 left. With 1:37 left the Fillies cut it to one, 60 – 59, as the Ladycats turned the ball over again. Gallian answered with a drive to the basket to put the Ladycats up 3, but Huntingdon hit a three to tie the game at 62 all with 52.8 seconds left. The Ladycats turned the ball over again with 39.3 seconds left, Huntingdon immediately tried to take the lead, but their shot was no good with 26.1 seconds left. The Ladycats got one more chance and missed a lay-up with 11.6 remaining. The Fillies went the length of the floor, putting up a shot in the middle of the lane that went in at the last second to take the win, 64 – 62.
Lauren Bryant and Michaela Gallian led the Ladycats in scoring with 20 points apiece. Bryant had 4 rebounds, a steal, and 6 assists. Gallian had 5 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 assists. Cambree Camfield added 9 points, with 4 rebounds, a steal, and an assist. Savanna McClain and Charlie Woodside had 7 and 6 points respectively. McClain had a rebound and an assist, and Woodside came up with 2 steals. Jac Keaton had 4 rebounds, 2 steals, and 5 assists, and Annie Lee had a rebound. The Ladycats committed 25 turnovers on the night and were outrebounded 25 – 19. Huntingdon went to the line 22 times on the night compared to 11 for the Ladycats.
The Wildcats trailed by one, 13 – 12, at the end of the first quarter of action. In the second period, the War Eagles of West Carroll took control, outscoring the ‘Cats 19 – 8 in the quarter. A deep West Carroll team went on to take the win, 59 – 37.
Clay Baugus and Tyler Moser led the ‘Cats in scoring with 18 and 13 points respectively. Baugus had 6 rebounds, a block, and 2 steals, while Moser added 2 rebounds and an assist. Ethan Camfield and Landyn Prater each scored 3 points. Camfield had 3 rebounds, a steal, and an assist, while Prater had 4 rebounds and an assist. Gaynes Keaton had 2 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 assists, and Austin Whitson had 3 rebounds. The Wildcats shot only 35% from the field and were outrebounded 36 – 22.
With the season finishing up, the teams will begin preparation for next year and hopefully a more normal and successful year of WCHS basketball. “WORK HARD ‘CATS AND LADYCATS!”—Submitted
