Lady Cats light up nets on record-setting night

By Andy Brown
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Updated: January 27, 2017

Andy Brown / Louisburg Sports Zone

Louisburg senior Chloe Renner passes off to a teammate after getting on the floor for a loose ball Thursday in the consolation semifinals of the Top Gun Tournament at Wellsville High School.

WELLSVILLE – Sophomore Carson Buffington can normally be found underneath the hoop, mixing it up for a rebound or a loose ball and getting the easy basket.

So when Buffington lined up for a 3-pointer during the consolation semifinal game of the Top Gun Tournament on Thursday, it looked a little out of place for some. Still, Buffington let the shot fly and knocked it down like she had done it all season.

The basket brought cheers from her bench and all coach Shawn Lowry could do was give a little smirk. It was that kind of night for the Lady Cats.

“I will say she has yellowish light, but she knows she can take that,” Lowry said. “She actually has a good shot from out there and she is starting to get more confident with it now. She is a pretty good shooter.”

Actually, a lot of the Louisburg team displayed that 3-point prowess against Anderson County as the Lady Cats set a tournament record for made 3-pointers in a game with a 63-25 blowout to advance to the fifth-place game on Saturday at Wellsville High School.

Louisburg nailed 14 3-pointers on the night as the Lady Cats put on their best shooting display of the season in what was an important bounce back game after losing to Spring Hill in the opening round of the tournament. The old record of 12 was set in 2005.

“When shots are falling like that, you know it is probably going to be a pretty good night,” Lowry said. “It started with our defense and our defensive intensity on the other end of the floor. Our intensity was really good and it was good coming off the bench, too.

“I challenged some of our players off the bench and they responded. Some of the players like Haley Cain, Kennia Hankinson, Isabelle Holtzen and Chloe Renner were really solid off the bench.”

Freshman Haley Cain works her way toward the basket against Anderson County on Thursday in Wellsville.

The 3-point shooting has been a big bonus for the Lady Cats as of late as they have made 34 shots from behind-the-arch in the last three games, including 10 each against Spring Hill in their previous two meetings.

Senior Madisen Simpson got it all started Thursday as she connected on five 3-pointers and scored a team-high 16 points and was one of three players to score in double figures. Hankinson, a sophomore, had three 3-pointers and finished with 11 points off the bench, while senior Tayler Lancaster had 10 points with two 3-pointers.

“When you set a tournament record, and there have been a lot of good teams in this tournament, that is a good thing for our girls,” Lowry said. “A lot of them contributed to that and we have been shooting the ball well lately, and this coming off the last two games where we have had 10 each.”

Paige Buffington had a pair of long shots, while Carson Buffington and junior Mikayla Quinn each had a trey to total the record-setting mark.

Defense got the Lady Cats (6-5) started as they frustrated Anderson County offensively and held the Bulldogs to no field goals in the first quarter, which led to a comfortable 39-12 lead at halftime.

Louisburg didn’t play like it had a big lead as it continued to pressure Anderson County and outscored the Bulldogs 15-7 in the third quarter before enforcing a running clock for the fourth.

The Lady Cats will face off with Wellsville for fifth place at 1:15 p.m. Saturday and they realize it is an important game.

“We wanted to get two wins out of this tournament and it started with Anderson County,” Lowry said. “This is our first step and Saturday we want to get that second win. It is going to be a tough one against a really good Wellsville team, but we will be ready.”

LOU 17 22 15 9 – 63

AC 4 8 7 6 – 25

LOUISBURG (6-5): Madisen Simpson 16, Kennia Hankinson 11, Tayler Lancaster 10, Carson Buffington 8, Paige Buffington 6, Haley Cain 5, Mikayla Quinn 3, Isabelle Holtzen 2, Kody Lowry 2. Totals: 22 7-13 63. 3-point field goals: 14, (Simpson 5, Hankinson 3, P. Buffington 2, Lancaster 2, C. Buffington 1 Quinn 1)

Louisburg falls in close battle with Spring Hill

Just five days after the Louisburg girls basketball team earned an 11-point win over Spring Hill, the Lady Cats once again faced off with the Broncos — this time in the first round of the Top Gun Tournament.

The two teams found themselves in a back-and-forth match-up, but this time it was Spring Hill that came out on top.

Louisburg rallied from a double digit deficit to eventually take the lead late, but couldn’t hold on in a 59-57 loss.

Louisburg senior Paige Buffington drives the lane Tuesday against Spring Hill in Wellsville.

“That was a battle,” Louisburg coach Shawn Lowry said. “That first quarter we really came out flat, but we really battled back and showed a lot in that fourth quarter to come back and take the lead. It showed a lot about this group. It was a really good basketball game. It was one where, if you are not directly involved, it was a fun one to watch and take in.”

The Lady Cats found themselves down by 10 points in the third quarter only to storm back. Louisburg senior Tayler Lancaster led the Lady Cats as she knocked down three 3-pointers in the third, including one with 47 seconds left that banked off the glass.

Lancaster continued her hot-shooting early in the fourth and gave the Lady Cats the lead at 44-41. Spring Hill eventually took a 47-44 advantage, only to see Lancaster tie the game again with a 3-pointer with four minutes left.

“Tayler had a great game and hit some big baskets,” Lowry said. “It all starts with ball pressure with her and she did great in the game.”

Fellow senior Madisen Simpson knocked down a 3-pointer to give Louisburg a 52-48 advantage. Simpson and Paige Buffington knocked down free throws to give the Lady Cats a 55-51 lead with a minute left.

Spring Hill cut the deficit to two with 56 seconds remaining, then stole the ball and Lauren Delker scored to tie the game for the Broncos. The two teams would trade free throws, but Delker struck again with a basket with 3.8 seconds left to give the Broncos the win.

Simpson led Louisburg in scoring with 22 points, while Lancaster finished with 18, including her five 3-pointers. Spring Hill’s Meghan Goff led all scorers with 23 points and Delker added 12 in the win.

LOU 6 13 20 18 – 57

SH 10 14 17 18 – 59

LOUISBURG: Madisen Simpson 22, Tayler Lancaster 18, Paige Buffington 7, Carson Buffington 6, Kennia Hankinson 3, Emalee Overbay 1. Totals: 14 19-28 57. 3-point field goals: 10, (Lancaster 5, Simpson 4, Hankinson 1)