Buffington, Melton named all-league honorable mention

Louisburg senior Carson Buffington was named to the All-Frontier League team for the fourth consecutive season.

In a league that featured the state
runner-up, the third-place finisher in Class 4A and another state tournament
qualifier, the Louisburg girls basketball schedule was a difficult one.

The Frontier League provided a lot
of difficult competition for the Lady Cats as they finished their season with a
10-11 record. Despite that, the league coaches recognized a pair of Louisburg
players for postseason honors.

The All-Frontier League team was
released earlier this week and Louisburg senior Carson Buffington and sophomore
Madilyn Melton were both honorable mention selections.

“I
think like most of the coaches, I would like to have had more of our players
recognized and in higher positions,” Louisburg coach Shawn Lowry said. “I
thought we had some girls that deserved recognition based on the scope of their
work and the things they did for our team. With that said, I understand that
there were a lot of really good players in our league.

“Both
of these girls, along with all of their teammates, are great representatives of
our program, school and community. We all couldn’t be more proud of this group
of girls and we are very thankful to have shared in this journey with them.”

For
Buffington, this was the fourth consecutive season that she was recognized with
an all-league selection. In 21 games, Buffington was second on the team with
eight points a game and also averaged seven rebounds, which led the Lady Cats,
to go along with 3.2 steals a contest.

“It’s hard to express just how good Carson was for
her team this year,” Lowry said. “It wasn’t just on game nights, but every day
in practice with how she competed and her great leadership. She never took
a day off and always led by example. Carson is one of the hardest working
players that I have worked with coaching basketball – boys or girls.

“She
was relentless as a player and was always the first one on the floor for a
loose ball. She is fantastic example for all the younger girls in
Louisburg about the level of commitment and determination that is required to
be successful on and off the court.”

Melton
earned her first all-league honor for the Lady Cats as the Louisburg sophomore
led the team in scoring with 14 points and six rebounds per game.

“Madilyn
has committed herself and puts in a great deal of work to improve as a player
for her team,” Lowry said. “Not only that, she does so many of those things we
talk about when it comes to effort, character, being unselfish and she does it
all with great pride. What was most impressive about Madilyn this season was
her growth as a leader that she earned through her hard work and unselfishness.”

Piper
(state runner-up), Baldwin (third-place finisher) and Eudora (state qualifier)
led the league with three selections each, while Piper had two first-team selections
in Ryan Cobbins and Ali Vigil. Baldwin also had two first team honorees in
Kayla Kurtz and Macey Frost, while Eudora’s Riley Hiebert was also named to the
first team.

ALL-FRONTIER LEAGUE GIRLS BASKETBALL

FIRST TEAM

Ryan Cobbins, Piper, senior

Ali Vigil, Piper, junior

Kayla Kurtz, Baldwin, senior

Riley Hiebert, Eudora, junior

Macey Frost, Baldwin, senior

SECOND TEAM

Bella Todd, Spring Hill, senior

Lauren Delker, Spring Hill, senior

Kate Ogle, Baldwin, senior

Harper Schreiner, Eudora, freshman

Evelyn Vazquez, Piper, sophomore

HONORABLE MENTION

Carson Buffington, Louisburg,
senior

Hallie Hoffine, Bonner Springs,
senior

Reagan Hiebert, Eudora, junior

Madilyn Melton, Louisburg,
sophomore

Brayden Hanf, Paola, junior

Anna Soetaert, Tonganoxie, senior