Lady Wildcats take second

The Lady Wildcats opened up tournament play on Tuesday against Sacred Heart and came within a bucket for the victory but lost 36-34 in overtime.

“Opening night we came out pretty slow but made a few changes with our defense. The girls did a good job playing from behind and keep their composure to send the game into OT by a 3 from Andrea Valadez,” said head coach Shauna Riedy.

Down 25-19 going into the fourth the Wildcats erupted for 11 points and limited Sacred Heart to just 5 points sending the game to the extra period.

Valadez lead with 13 points including 3 three-pointers, Justice Rice added 6 point, Morgran Limon and Hannah Helferich each had 5 points.

“The girls are still getting use to a new system and will keep improving every night,” said Riedy

On Friday the Wildcats took on Chapman and came away with a convincing 49-37 victory.

“We came out really well and ended very well. Now we just need to put it all together,” said Riedy.

Valadez poured in 20 points to lead in scoring.

Helferich had a double-double pouring in 14 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Helferich also had 4 assists and 4 steals.

“Hannah had an all around game for us leading us in assists, rebounds, and steals,” said Riedy.

El Dorado led 17-16 at halftime and went down 27-24 heading into the fourth.

Again the Wildcats came up big in the fourth this time scoring 25 points and holding the Irish to 10 points to earn their first win of the season.

“Everyone contributed in our run at the 4 minute mark to get our 10 point lead. We made free throws when it counted,” said Riedy.

On Saturday the Wildcats met the Rossville Bulldogs and came away with a 35-33 nailbiter win.

“We got off to a good start but got quickly into foul trouble,” said Riedy.

Valadez had 10 points to lead the scoring effort. Helferich and Whitney Luck each had 5 points and Luck pulled down 5 boards.

El Dorado led 24-19 at the half and scored just enough in the second half to hold onto the win.

“The girls that came off the bench made some big contributions throughout the game,” said Riedy.

With the win the Wildcats took 2nd place in the tournament and Andrea Valadez made the all-tournament team and was named the MVP of the tournament.

The Wildcats will be back in action tonight for the first time this season at Alumni Court when they take on Buhler at 6 p.m.