Sulphur Springs Lady Cats Come in at No. 23 in TABC Rankings
Winning basketball games has become commonplace for the Sulphur Springs Lady Cats basketball team, who have made trips to the postseason in back-to-back seasons. Their campaign to making the playoffs in a third consecutive season has gotten out to an incredible start, with the Lady Cats winning 11 of their first 15 games of the season.
Outside sources have began to take notice of what the Lady Cats’ have been up to, with the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches adding them to their newest edition of their State Rankings. After a great 11-4 start to the year, the Sulphur Springs Lady Cats enter this week, as the No. 23 ranked team in the state.
Sulphur Springs wasted no time finding their groove this season, as they already have win streak’s of four and five games this season. After splitting their first two games of the season, Sulphur Springs went on their first streak of the season, winning five consecutive games.
In that time span the Lady Cats would face Greenville, Eastern Hills, Rio Vista, Life Oak Cliff and Springtown, winning each of those games by at least 20 points. During that five-game span, Sulphur Springs averaged 55 points per game, while only allowing 16 points per game.
The streak would come to an end with a close 37-31 loss, but they would pick back up immediately with another four-game winning streak. In those four games Sulphur Springs took down Farmersville, Brownsboro, Brook Hill and Neches, doing so by a combined score of 184-91.
During that four-game winning-streak it was sophomore Cami Shaack and senior Codee Roland who led the team in scoring, combining for 20.3 points per game. Shaack did so by shooting very efficiently from outside, leading the team with a 41.7% from behind the 3-point line.
Roland was also incredibly efficient during that time span, leading the team by shooting 52% from the field, having the highest field goal percentage on the team, while also averaging the second-most shot attempts, being the definition of both quantity and quality.
Also making major contributions during the four-game winning streak were freshman Rylee Ivery and senior Kaylee Carter. As just a freshman, Ivery logged 19 minutes per game, and made the absolute most of her playing time.
In her 19 minutes per game, the Lady Cats’ freshman guard averaged 8.3 points per game, as well as an impressive four steals per game.
While the freshman was shining in her debut season, senior Kaylee Carter was supplying the team with veteran leadership, averaging seven points per game and spreading the floor with her 3-point attempts. Carter led the team both in 3-pointers attempted and 3-pointers made during that span, as well as minutes played, logging 28 minutes per game during that span.
While she was making strong contributions on offense, she was perhaps just as instrumental on the defensive end. Carter also average four steals per game, along with 3.5 rebounds per game and had the third-lowest turnover percentage on the team during that span.
Twin sister Kyra Carter played a huge role as well, averaging six points per game and having the second-highest plus-minus on the team. During the winning streak, Carter had a plus-minus of +19.8, meaning the Lady Cats outscored their opponents by an average of 19.8 points per game, while Carter was on the floor.
The post play was also exceptional during that span, thanks to junior Rainey Johnson and senior Aaliyah Cheatum. Cheatum led the team in rebounding during the winning streak, with Johnson having the third-most rebounds, with the duo cutting down opponents’ second-chance opportunities.
Sulphur Springs has gotten out to their hot 11-4 start to the season for a number of reasons, with depth and strong defense being the name of the game. The Lady Cats have seen huge contributions from a number of players, spanning all the way from freshmen to seniors.
The Lady Cats will have a pair of chances to keep their strong start going this week, with two home games, both of which will be aired on Front Porch News and Chad’s Media. They will first host Mineola on Tuesday, before hosting Hooks, who is currently ranked No. 12 in the 3A rankings Friday.
Both games have scheduled start times of 6:15 p.m. and can be watched live on Front Porch News and Chad’s Media, for anybody who can’t make it to support the Lady Cats in person.
