Ashland Kittens’ Season Ends
with Heart at Rupp Arena
Kay Smith
The Ashland Beacon
The Ashland Kittens held their ground against the fifth-ranked team in the state, North Laurel, for three quarters, even seizing a 34-27 lead midway through the third thanks to back-to-back threes by Kenleigh Woods and Gabby Karle.
But despite the early momentum, Ashland only managed one field goal in the final eleven minutes, and North Laurel surged in the fourth quarter to claim a 51-42 victory.
Though the Kittens forced 23 turnovers from North Laurel, their shooting woes—just 23.9% from the field—proved too much to overcome.
Kenleigh Woods was the lone Ashland player in double digits, finishing with 23 points and four three-pointers. Brookelyn Duckwyler chipped in seven, and Jenna Delaney hauled in eight rebounds.
It was a season full of uncertainties for Woods, who wasn’t sure if she would play at all after breaking her leg in September during Ashland's 6-0 soccer win over West Carter, where she scored five goals—including the one on the play where she broke her leg. Reflecting on her journey, Woods shared her message for the younger players: “Play every game like it is your last. With my injury, I tell them to play the game like it’s your last,” she said. “I didn’t think I would come back that fast and finish out my senior year. You have to defend the sisterhood and play for each other.”
Kittens coach Stacy Davis, who guided her team through a season marred by injuries and sickness, expressed pride in her squad’s resilience: “I am just so proud of my girls,” Davis said. “It’s been a rough season. We faced adversity with injuries early on and then we had some sickness. To see them battle through and get to the point where we got to finish our season at Rupp was pretty sweet.”
“The name of the game is to score the ball with confidence,’” Davis added. “‘We did struggle with that on the offensive side. These girls left everything they had out on the floor for 32 minutes. They did what we asked them to do. I couldn’t be more proud of them.’”
Ashland concludes the season at 21-11.
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