Paola ends Lady Cats’ season

By Andy Brown
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Updated: March 7, 2016

Louisburg junior Paige Buffington tries to get a shot up over a couple Paola defenders Thursday during the first round of the Class 4A-Division I substate tournament at Louisburg High School. Paola defeated Louisburg 67-39.

It was a cliché performance for the Louisburg girls basketball team – but that was a good thing.

The Lady Cats squared off against No. 1 seed Paola in the first round of the Class 4A substate tournament Thursday and as the old cliché goes “they gave everything they had.”

However, sometimes that just isn’t enough – especially against one of the top teams in Class 4A-Division I.

Despite a competitive first half, Louisburg couldn’t keep up with Paola in a 67-39 loss at Louisburg High School. Paola would beat Spring Hill 52-36 in the substate championship game two days later, while the Lady Cats saw their season come to an end.

“We came into this game saying that we were going to leave it all on the table, we are going to give every ounce we have for every quarter and for every play,” Louisburg coach Shawn Lowry said. “For the most part, the effort and toughness was there and I can’t say enough about these kids.”

The Lady Cats weathered the storm early as they found themselves down 23-10 going into the second quarter and were having some problems slowing the Paola offense down. Louisburg slowed Paola down a little in the second and the Lady Cats even outscored the Panthers 15-14 to only trail by 12 points at halftime.

Louisburg senior Megan Lemke puts up a shot during Thursday’s substate tournament game in Louisburg.

Louisburg cut the deficit to eight points at one time early in the second quarter after back-to-back 3-pointers from Paige Buffington and Madisen Simpson. However, Paola’s Matti Morgan hit a 3-pointer with under a minute left to push the lead back up to double digits before halftime.

To start the second half, Louisburg junior Emalee Overbay hit a basket to make it a 10-point game, but shortly after is when Paola went on a tear. The Panthers proceeded to go on a 22-0 run and were 11-for-11 from the free-throw line during that span.

Paige Buffington led the Lady Cats in scoring with 12 points, and in her final game as a Lady Cat, senior Megan Lemke finished with 10 points and six rebounds.

“Megan Lemke has set a great example for her teammates by her work ethic, leadership and unselfishness and I can’t say enough what a big part it was for our team this year,” Lowry said. “It was hard in the locker room with her after the game, that is for sure. It is hard because you get so close to them.”

The Lady Cats also had several young players step up this season, including freshman Carson Buffington, who ended the Paola contest with 13 rebounds and averaged more than 10 rebounds a game.

Although Louisburg finished with a 3-18 record, it was the effort the team gave throughout the season – on and off the court – that left Lowry optimistic for the future.

“We talk about different expectations and things, but my expectation for them was what they gave out on the floor and the character that they did it with,” Lowry said. “It is such a success for me. When they leave this program, I hope that they look back and say they got more out of this than playing basketball.”

LOUISBURG 10 15 4 10 – 39

PAOLA 23 14 22 8 – 67

LOUISBURG (3-18): Paige Buffington 4-8 1-2 12; Megan Lemke 4-13 2-4 10; Carson Buffington 3-8 0-0 7; Kennia Hankinson 1-4 0-2 3; Madisen Simpson 1-8 0-0 3; Emalee Overbay 1-1 0-0 2; Haven Turner 1-1 0-0 2. Totals: 15-53 3-11 39. 3-point field goals: 6, (P. Buffington 3, C. Buffington 1, Hankinson 1, Simpson 1)