Offense comes alive for Lady Cats in win at Bonner Springs

By Andy Brown
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Updated: January 11, 2019

Louisburg sophomore Madilyn Melton fights past two Bonner Springs defenders to get to the basket Tuesday at Bonner Springs High School.

BONNER SPRINGS – Coming off a road loss to Eudora where the Louisburg girls basketball team managed just 28 points, the Lady Cats knew they were going to have to pick things up offensively.

Louisburg did just that as the Lady Cats nearly eclipsed their previous point total in the first quarter alone Tuesday in Bonner Springs. The Lady Cats opened with a 24-point first quarter and never looked back in a 56-44 win over the Braves.

It was a big victory for the Lady Cats as they are in the middle of a three-game road swing to open 2019 and head coach Shawn Lowry was pleased with the way his team responded in all phases of the game.

“I am never proud or disappointed after a win or a loss, I am just proud of how our kids respond to all different kinds of things, whether that is in practice or a game,” Lowry said. “I am proud of our character, our toughness and our togetherness. Ever since I have been here, I have talked about togetherness and this group embraces it as good as any that I have had here. That is what I am most proud of.”

The Lady Cats got offensive production from several different players and also found success from the outside. Louisburg hit nine 3-pointers on the night and was able to score both inside and out.

It started with sophomore Madilyn Melton as she had a team-high 14 points, seven rebounds and three assists to lead Louisburg. Junior Haley Cain also stepped up inside with 11 points and five rebounds.

Sophomore guard Megan Foote, who got her first start of the season, also finished in double figures with 10 points, four rebounds and three assists. Sophomore Brooklyn Diederich came off the bench to score eight points and senior Carson Buffington also had a team-high seven rebounds.

**Senior Carson Buffington leaps into the air to pressure a Bonner Springs player Tuesday.**

“After the last game we talked about having to find someone who can score the ball and it is just kids stepping up and saying that they get it and I will look to be more aggressive and be a scorer,” Lowry said. “I thought we did a good job of that. Haley, Megan, Diederich and (Kennia) Hankinson all did a good job of looking for opportunities. Teams are going to play Madilyn a little tougher inside and will start to pack it in a little bit, and that means we have to look to be scorers from the outside when we need to.”

Louisburg (5-3) took a 30-22 halftime lead after slowing down a little offensively in the second quarter. Bonner Springs chipped away at the Lady Cat lead in the third as Braves’ forward Kim Whetstone scored eight straight points to cut the Louisburg lead to three. Whetstone led Bonner Springs with 15 points and 11 rebounds.

“She is a nice player and is very athletic and very tough,” Lowry said. “We tried to do some different things against her, and when we tried some of those things she really started to score. She is a nice player and we will have to play them again at our place.

Melton, Foote and Cain scored the next 12 points for Louisburg to help build the lead back to double digits and the Lady Cats were able to keep it there.

Louisburg will try and make it two wins in a row tonight when it travels to Baldwin. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.

“They have a great program and they are obviously the state champions from last year,” Lowry said. “They have so many great players back from last year, but our girls won’t back down from the challenge and we are going to work our butts off and get ready for them.

LOU 24 6 15 11 – 56

BON 13 9 13 9 – 44

LOUISBURG (5-3): Madilyn Melton 6-14 1-4 14; Haley Cain 5-15 0-1 11; Megan Foote 2-3 4-7 10; Brooklyn Diederich 3-5 0-0 8; Carson Buffington 2-7 0-0 6; Kennia Hankinson 1-5 0-0 3; Alyse Moore 0-1 3-4 3; Erin Lemke 0-0 1-3 1. Totals: 19-50 9-18 56. 3-point field goals: 9, (Buffington 2, Diederich 2, Foote 2, Hankinson, Cain, Melton)