Lady ’Cats finish second in District

By Editor | March 5, 2025 |

Photo courtesy of Licking R-8 School District
The Licking Lady Wildcats finished their season with a second place plaque in the District Tournament. From left, kneeling: seniors Allie Hock, Zoey Dawson, Kinley Keaton and Linzie Wallace; standing: Asst. Coach Eriq Kristek, Sadie Hutsell, Keely Gorman, Mylie Peterson, Asst. Coach Rick Mosher, Addison Floyd, Morgan Stone, Mya Rinne, Cheyenne Mason, Kylee Rinne, Jayde Thompson, Hadlee Davis, Asst. Coach Callie Smith and Head Coach Steve Rissler.

By Coach Steve Rissler

LICKING 52, CABOOL 22

CABOOL, Mo. – The third seed Licking Lady Wildcats faced the sixth seed Cabool Lady Bulldogs last Tuesday evening in the first round of the district tournament.

Licking used different types of pressure to force Cabool into turnovers throughout the game. Licking led 29-9 at halftime but extended the lead to 30+ points in the third to get the turbo clock in use for the fourth quarter. Licking cruised to a 56 to 22 victory over the host Bulldogs.

Allie Hock led the scoring with 23 points; Hadlee Davis 9; Linzie Wallace 7; Zoey Dawson 6 points, 10 rebounds, 7 steals; Morgan Stone and Keely Gorman 4 points each, and Kinley Keaton 3 points.

LICKING 33, MTN. VIEW 32

CABOOL, Mo. – Licking faced the second seed in Mountain View-Liberty in the semi-final round.

Points were at a premium in this contest as both teams used stifling zone defenses to slow down their opponents and limit offensive outputs. The Lady Eagles gained a slight advantage at the half, leading 17-12. The third quarter was much of the same as Licking scored 6 and Liberty tallied 5, for a 22-18 Lady Eagle lead with one quarter to play. The Licking offense came to life after a 3 from Kinley Keaton and one from Hadlee Davis put the Wildcats ahead for the first time in the game with under three minutes to play. The Lady Wildcats scrapped and fought for every rebound and loose ball to escape with a 33-32 victory and advance to their ninth straight district championship game.

THAYER 43, LICKING 36

CABOOL, Mo. – The District Championship game was played Saturday, between Licking and first seed Thayer.

Licking sprang on Thayer early, taking a 9-2 lead in the first, but a late rally by the Bobcats tied it up at the end of that quarter. Thayer won the second quarter but Licking stayed within striking distance at the half. The third quarter was a battle. Licking was able to get as close as one point but Thayer answered and took a slight lead into the final quarter. Licking battled back in the fourth and took a lead for a short time, but Thayer scored the next seven points to secure its final lead of the game. Licking fell 36-43 for their third runner-up finish in as many years.

“We executed our game plan pretty well but came up short versus Thayer. The girls had a good season and the four seniors will leave a positive legacy on the program for years to come.” ~ Coach Rissler

During the championship game, senior Allie Hock surpassed the 1000-point mark for her career.