Rough third quarter sinks Lady Cats against Eudora

Louisburg junior Haley Cain gets on the floor for a loose ball Friday at Eudora High School. The Lady Cats fell 51-28 in their first game back from the holiday break.

EUDORA – There are times during a
season where most teams will have games where the offense just wasn’t there.

Friday was one of those nights for
the Louisburg girls basketball team.

Eudora built on its 10-point
halftime lead with a big third quarter and handed the Lady Cats a 51-28 defeat at
Eudora High School. The Cardinals went on a 20-3 run in the third quarter to
pull away and the Lady Cats didn’t have an answer.

“We just have to find a way to
score the basketball,” Louisburg coach Shawn Lowry said. “Whether it is with
different looks, different sets, different personnel – we just have to find a
way to get better at scoring the ball. Maybe it is something simple like
getting to the rim, making our free throws or hitting some shots from the
outside. It needs to get better.”

The Cardinals employed a zone defense
for much of the game and wanted to make Louisburg beat them from the outside.
That defense took away the Lady Cats’ strength, which is driving to the basket
and getting the ball down low.

“If I was on the other side
coaching, I would probably zone us quite a bit too,” Lowry said. “They forced
us to shoot from the outside and we couldn’t take advantage of that. Our
driving ability and inside game can be pretty strong, but we have to find a way
to score the basketball in addition to those two things.”

The Lady Cats trailed by just six
points at the end of the first quarter and had a 27-17 halftime deficit before
the Cardinals caught fire.

Along with the rough night
shooting, the Lady Cats had a tough time containing Eudora sisters Riley and
Reagan Hiebert. The Cardinal twins combined for 29 of the team’s 51 points as
they knocked down several shots from the outside against the Louisburg zone.

“They are tough to guard and they
are athletic,” Lowry said of the Eudora guards. “That is what speed does. They
are great track athletes and it shows on the basketball floor as well. Add to
that, they can really shoot the ball.

“Eudora is a really good team. We
knew they were going to be a solid team and they got a really nice freshman
class coming up too. They were what we expected. They are a talented group of
kids and they are well-coached and he has done a nice job for a long time.”

Louisburg sophomore Madilyn Melton
nearly had a double-double to lead the Lady Cats. Melton finished with 10
points and eight rebounds and was the lone Lady Cat to score in double figures.

Sophomore Alyse Moore was next
with six points, while sophomore guard Brooklyn Diederich added five. Seniors
Carson Buffington and Kennia Hankinson were second on the team with five
rebounds.

The Lady Cats will try and get back on track Tuesday when it travels to Bonner Springs. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m., as Louisburg is in the middle of a three-game road trip.

“We had a really good work over
the break,” Lowry said. “Our attendance was fantastic and our work ethic was
great. Our energy was really good, but now we have to come back and play three
games on the road. We just have to pick ourselves from this and rebound at
Bonner Springs.”

LOU               10           7             3             8 – 28

EUD               16           11           20           4 – 51

LOUISBURG (4-3): Madilyn Melton
4-8 2-4 10; Alyse Moore 2-3 2-7 6; Brooklyn Diederich 2-10 0-0 5; Carson
Buffington 1-5 0-0 2; Haley Cain 1-5 0-2 2; Ashley Moore 1-1 0-0 2; Erin Lemke
0-2 1-2 1. Totals: 11-38 5-15 28. 3-point field goals: 1, (Diederich)