Buffington earns postseason honors

Louisburg High School freshman Carson Buffington dives on the floor for a loose ball during a game earlier this season. Buffington led the Frontier League with 11 rebounds a contest and earned honorable mention all-league and all-state honors.

It was just her first year of varsity basketball, but Carson Buffington seemed to make quite an impression on the rest of the Frontier League coaches.

The Louisburg forward did a lot of the dirty work for the Lady Cats this season and the coaches made sure she was rewarded for it. Buffington earned a spot on the all-Frontier League basketball team as an honorable mention when the team was released last week.

Buffington was the lone selection for the Lady Cats after they finished with a 3-18 record, but she had a season to remember. As a freshman, she led the league in rebounding with 11 boards a game to go along with four points and two steals a contest.

“Carson takes a great deal of pride and gives exceptional effort in rebounding the ball on both ends of the floor,” Louisburg coach Shawn Lowry said. “She does many of those things coaches ask of their players when it comes to effort, hustle, character and being unselfish.

“She is the first one on the floor for a loose ball. She is a great teammate, always positive and encouraging, and I expect her to develop into a good leader for her team this offseason.”

The honors didn’t stop there, however.

Buffington also earned all-state honors as she was named to the Class 4A-Division I honorable mention team by the Topeka Capital-Journal.

As for the rest of the all-league team, Paola, which finished as a state runner-up, led the way with four all-league selections. Baldwin, which made the state tournament in Class 4A-Division II, also had four selections.

2016 All-Frontier League Girls Basketball Team

First team: Morgan Laudan, senior, Paola; Kyna Smith, sr., Baldwin; Matti Morgan, jr., Paola; Maddie Neufeld, sr., Baldwin; Kamryn Shaffer, soph., Ottawa.

Second team: Mariah Grizzle, soph., De Soto; Julia Johnson, jr., De Soto; Kristen Saucerman, sr., De Soto; Abby Ogle, soph., Baldwin; Taylor Williams, sr., Paola.

Honorable mention: Lauren Delker, fr., Spring Hill; Carson Buffington, fr., Louisburg; Meghan Goff, fr., Spring Hill; Taylor Cawley, jr., Baldwin; Brynn Ferguson, sr., Ottawa; Chandler Karr, jr., Paola.