Lady Cats finish sixth at Top Gun tournament

Louisburg senior Carson Buffington knocks in a 3-pointer Friday during the Lady Cats’ consolation semifinal game against Anderson County at Wellsville High School.

WELLSVILLE – It may not have been the finish the Lousiburg girls basketball team wanted Saturday during the Top Gun Tournament at Wellsville High School, but the Lady Cats still had plenty of positives to build off of in their final two games.

Louisburg lost to Topeka Hayden in
the fifth-place game Saturday, 48-34, and was a game that was much closer than
the score indicated. The Lady Cats trimmed the Hayden lead to just six with 3
minutes and 46 seconds to play, but Hayden converted from the free-throw line
to seal the win.

This was after a big win for
Louisburg as it knocked off Anderson County, 64-46, in the consolation
semifinals Friday, thanks in part again to its defense. Louisburg fell to
Wellsville, 60-28, to open tournament play Thursday.

“With the exception of Thursday’s game versus
Wellsville, I thought our defensive effort was good and helped set the tone for
our play in the tournament,” Louisburg coach Shawn Lowry said. “It’s great for
our team when our defense can create offense and intensity for us because we’re
flying around and getting on the floor for loose balls. With that said we have
to continue improving at scoring the basketball when we have opportunities at
the rim.”

Offensively, the Lady Cats got good performances
from sophomore Madilyn Melton and senior Kennia Hankinson against Hayden as the
two players combined for 28 of the team’s 34 points.

Melton scored a game-high 17 points, including a 10-for-11 performance from the free-throw line. Hankinson added 11 points, including three 3-pointers that helped keep the game close.

Louisburg also had to battle Hayden’s size inside,
including forward Brooklyn Hunter. Hunter scored a team-high 13 points, but was
shadowed the entire game by junior Haley Cain.

“I thought our defensive game plan with Hayden was
good and Haley Cain battled her tail off against their good post player,” Lowry
said. “We had our opportunities late in the game but just couldn’t finish some
plays.”

Against Anderson County, the Lady Cats used their
defense to spark their offense as they scored 24 and 19 points in the second
and third quarter, respectively.

Louisburg (6-7) took a 10-4 lead at the end of the
first quarter, but widened its lead to 13 points at halftime and 17 points
going into the final period.

Melton again had another big game for Louisburg as
she finished with 20 points and was one of three Lady Cats to score in double
figures. Cain had a big night with 12 points and Buffington added 10 points in
the win.

It didn’t go quite as well to start the tournament as
the Lady Cats had trouble scoring against a Wellsville team that was tough
defensively. Louisburg trailed 24-6 at the end of the first quarter, and after
a better second period, went scoreless in the third quarter and sealed its
fate.

Following the tournament, Top Gun officials released
their awards and Buffington earned a spot on the tournament’s all-academic team.

Louisburg will try and bounce back this week with a
pair of wins as it travels to Paola tonight for a rivalry matchup and then will
host Ottawa on Friday for homecoming.

LOU               3             11           5             15 – 34

HAY               11           8             12           17 – 48

LOUISBURG (6-7): Madilyn Melton 3
10-11 17; Kennia Hankinson 3 2-2 11; Carson Buffington 0 2-4 2; Alyse Moore 0
2-8 2; Haley Cain 1 0-0 2. Totals: 7 16-25 34. 3-point field goals: 4,
(Hankinson 3, Melton)

LOU               10           24           19           11 – 64

AC                  4             17           13           12 – 46

LOUISBURG: Madilyn Melton 7 6-8
20; Haley Cain 5 2-2 12; Carson Buffington 4 0-0 10; Megan Foote 3 0-0 7;
Brooklyn Diederich 2 0-0 5; Kennia Hankinson 1 2-4 4; Alyse Moore 2 0-2 4;
Madison Quinn 1 0-0 2. Totals: 25 10-16 64. 3-point field goals: 4, (Buffington
2, Diederich, Foote)

LOU               6             15           0             7 – 28

WEL              24           13           17           6 – 60

LOUISBURG: Madilyn Melton 4 0-2 8;
Carson Buffington 2 0-0 6; Jordan Mynsted 2 0-0 5; Brooklyn Diederich 2 1-2 5;
Haley Cain 1 0-0 3; Megan Foote 0 1-4 1. Totals: 11 1-9 28. 3-point field
goals: 4, (Buffington 2, Mynsted, Cain)