Despite a lead after the first quarter, Owensboro Catholic couldn’t get any rhythm on offense, falling 60-43 to Webster County in the girls’ championship of the Owensboro Invitational Tournament Saturday night at the Sportscenter.
The Lady Aces (7-3) were held to their lowest score of the season by an undefeated Lady Trojans (12-0), and head coach Michael Robertson said it resembled the other losses this year for Catholic.
“They were a lot more physical,” he said of Webster County. “If you look, all three of our losses have come against teams that are physical. They get up in us, and we’re not reacting the way we should.”
The biggest lead for the Lady Aces came late in the first quarter when Isabella Henning got a fast-break layup and Caroline Reid followed it with a 3-pointer. The Lady Trojans knocked down a 3 of their own to trail 14-12 going into the second period.
Mackenzie Keelin hit two free throws with 6:11 on the clock, and the only other Catholic points before halftime came from a score by Madelyn Lyon with 55 seconds to play.
The Lady Trojans, meanwhile, had success at the other end to go up 28-18 at the break. Though Webster County didn’t put up big numbers, the Lady Aces continued to struggle from the floor and never got within single digits in the second half.
Robertson said the defense scrambled some at the end, but otherwise looked good. The offense, though, didn’t perform as they usually do.
“I thought defensively, for the most part, we weren’t too bad,” he said. “Offensively, we looked really uncharacteristic. We were passing up shots, not looking to attack as much and not looking up the floor. I think that had to do with (Webster County). We got a little intimidated today. I don’t know why. They had the hunger in their eyes, they were ready to play and we didn’t match their intensity.”
Coming off the bench, Lyon (10) and Henning (7) led the team in scoring. The starters combined to account for the other half of Catholic’s points.
It was the fourth game in three days for both teams, and they both won all three matchups in their respective pools in the tournament.
The Lady Aces return to action Thursday against Pleasure Ridge Park in the LaRosa’s Holiday Classic at Conner High School.
Owensboro Catholic scoring: Madelyn Lyon (10), Isabella Henning (7), Sarah Beth Clemens (5), Mackenzie Keelin (4), Caroline Reid (3), Spencer Harvey (3), Hannah McKay (2)
