Playing in the 9th District, Daviess County is no stranger to elite goal scorers, be it Owensboro Catholic’s Allie Marston (44) or Owensboro’s Lily Nieman (36). Playing against the two, a combined six times this season, has allowed the Lady Panthers to perfect their sweeper stopper method.
That was on full display last night against University Heights, with Mackenzie Elliott and Anslie Dant keeping Kendall Hancock, who entered the night with 56 goals, completely off the stat sheet. Mary Evelyn Wiman took advantage of her opportunities, scoring twice as the Lady Panthers won 2-0 to advance to the Elite Eight of the State Tournament for the first time since 2017.
“We played fantastically and I couldn’t be prouder,” Daviess County Head Coach Paige Crisp said. “We came in with a game plan and the girls stuck to it. Obviously, Kendall Hancock had 56 goals, and that was our big focus. Mac Elliot did exactly what she needed to do guarding her.”
Entering the night, one of the Lady Panthers’ game plans was to limit Hancock. Elliot was the primary defender on Hancock, with Dant dropped back farther, cleaning up any balls that got passed the defense.
“They followed it to almost perfection,” Crisp said. “We watched a lot of film and talked a lot about what we could do to slow her down a little bit. I think they did great.”
The other key component of the game plan was for the Lady Panthers’ midfield to step up and apply pressure whenever their team lost possession. Offensively, Crisp acknowledged that she just wanted her team to continue to play their game and Wiman obliged.
Both of the seniors’ goals occurred in the first half, virtually in the same spot. Bailey Brown found her for the 1-0 lead, and shortly after, Wiman struck again, this time unassisted.
“I saw the space, so I decided to attack said space,” Wiman said. “You have to take those opportunities in games like this.”
On Saturday, the Lady Panthers will host their second straight State Tournament game, this time against Central Hardin.
“It’s always great to get another chance at a home game,” Crisp said. Getting two in a row in a state tournament doesn’t happen very often, so that worked out well for us. I’m happy that our seniors are going to get to play one more time here.”
