Peebles senior guard Kenzie Morrison (22) elevates for a layup attempt in the first half of the Lady Indians district tournament loss to Waterford on February 19. (Photo by Mark Carpenter)
Lady Cats hand Peebles 50-35 district defeat
Peebles senior Natalee Workman, left, battles for a loose ball in action from the Lady Indians’ 50-35 loss to Waterford in the Division IV district tournament. (Photo by Mark Carpenter)
By Mark Carpenter
People’s Defender
For the second consecutive postseason, the tournament paths of the Peebles Lady Indians and the Waterford Lady Wildcats crossed each other, and for the second season in succession that meeting didn’t go well for the Peebles girls.
In 2021, the two teams met in the Division IV Elite Eight and the Lady Cats earned a trip to the state Final Four with a 63-47 victory. On Saturday, February 19, the pair met three games earlier in the district semi-finals at Piketon High School and the resultwas relatively the same. Taking advntage of a Peebles squad plagued by first half foul trouble, the Lady Cats built a double digit halftime dadvantage and never looked back, moving to the district championship game with a 50-35 triumph.
The Saturday battle was an ugly game on both sides, but more towards the Lady Indians, who were whistled for 16 first half fouls, a number that included four starters with four fouls apiece, and left leading scorer Payton Johnson onthe bench for most of the half.
Even with those difficulties, the Lady Indians put up quite a fight for most of the first two quarters. The first points of the game came two minutes in on a three-pointer from Peebles’ Kenzie Morrison and another bucket by the senior guard put the Tribe up 5-2, but a 5-0 Waterford run gave Waterford their first lead.
Two Morrison free throws and a bucket by Johnson gave the lead back to Peebles but Waterford closed the first period on a 7-2 run to take a 16-12 lead after one.
Morrison converted the old-fashioned “and one” to start the second frame but Waterford scored the next five as the whistles began to mount on the Peebles side. A basket by Summer Bird, a Morrison free throw and a jumper by Marisa Moore pulled the Lady Indians to within 23-20 but they would get no closer. With Peebles starters forced to the bench and those on the floor fored to play cautious defense, the Lady Cats grabbed the momentum with a 7-0 run, capped by a Mackenzie Suprano three-ball, to lead 30-20 at the halftime break.
Back at full strength as the second half began, the Lady Indians did all they could to battle back but Waterford is battle-tested and despite baskets by Peebles’ Lily McFarland and Johnson, the Lady Cats built the margin up to 41-26 after a basket by Avery Wagner. The Peebles girls stayed within striking distance with a basket by Moore and then a put back at the buzzer by Bird, cutting the Waterford lead to 41-30 after three quarters.
Early in the final period, the two sides exhanged three-point buckets, Morrison for Peebles and Laykyn Jones for Waterford, but time was quickly running out on the Lady Indians’ chances. The Lady Cats were patient in offense, working against a Peebles defense that was gassed from the effort up to that point. The final points of the season for the Lady Indians came with 5:25 to play on a layup by Johnson as the minutes ran out on Peebles and the Lady Cats moved on in tourney play with the eventual 15-point triumph.
In her final game with the Lady Indians, senior Kenzie Morrison led the team in scoring with 15 points, joined in double figures by sophomore Payton Johnson, who scored 10.
The victorious Lady Cats placed three players in double figures- Mackenzie Suprano with 16, Cara Taylor with 13, and Avery Wagner with 10. Waterford advanced to the distrcit championship game to face the Fairland Lady Dragons.
Even with the district loss, it was a successful first season for Peebles head coach Sidney Pell, whose team finished 16-6 and won the championship of the Southern Hills Athletic Conference small school division as well as a fifth consecutive Division IV sectional crown. The Lady Indians say goodbye to seniors Kenzie Morrison, Natalee Workman, Marisa Moore, and Emmi Nichols.
BOX SCORE
Peebles
12 8 10 5 —35
Waterford
16 14 11 9 —50
Peebles (35): Moore 2 0-0 4, McFarland 1 0-2 2, Morrison 4 5-8 15, Johnson 5 0-0 10, Bird 2 0-0 4, Team 14 5-10 35.
Waterford (50): Taylor 5 3-8 13, Suprano 6 2-4 16, Sury 2 0-2 4, Jones 2 2-4 7, Hiener 0 0-2 0, Walker 4 2-2 10, Team 19 9-22 50.
Three-Point Goals:
Peebles (2)- Morrison 2
Waterford (3)- Suprano 2, Jones 1
