Late run sparks Lady Cats in win over Burlington

Louisburg junior Megan Foote races the ball up the court during Tuesday’s game at Burlington High School. The Lady Cats picked up their second straight win with a 59-46 win over Burlington.

BURLINGTON – Sometimes it takes just one play to spark a team to go on a game-clinching run, and on Tuesday in Burlington, that spark came from Megan Foote.

The Louisburg junior started what was a big run for the Lady Cats with her aggressive play on both ends of the floor. The rest of the Lady Cats fed off that as they ran away from Burlington in the fourth quarter and left with a 59-46 victory.

Foote took a charge midway through the fourth quarter and then drove to the basket for a score that would break open a close game. Louisburg went on a 12-0 run and the Lady Cats earned their second straight win to start the season.

“Our defense was key during that run, but it really started with Megan’s aggressive attack to the basket,” Louisburg coach Shawn Lowry said. “We really hadn’t been the aggressor all night, but that seemed to flip a switch mentality-wise. The next thing you know Alyse (Moore) gets a steal and scores and it turned for us. Runs like that normally start with one play and I thought Megan’s drive to the basket did that for us and then we just took off.”

Junior Alyse Moore was another catalyst on both ends of the floor for the Lady Cats. Moore finished with a game-high 22 points, several of which came off steals in transition.

Another junior, Madilyn Melton, also finished in double figures with 18 points and Foote added eight points – six of which came in the Lady Cats’ 24-point fourth quarter.

“Alyse played great and she always plays so hard,” Lowry said. “Alyse will give you every single ounce that she has and she did that again for us. It was a great performance and I thought Megan was really solid as well. She was good with the basketball for us and I thought she did a great job offensively and defensively.”

It was a back and forth game through the first three quarters as the lead changed hands nine times and neither team could pull away. It was the type of game Lowry was expecting.

Burlington is a traditionally good program in Class 3A and the Louisburg coach wasn’t expecting anything different this time around.

“This is always a tough place to play, and not to mention that their longtime coach is back now after six-year hiatus,” Lowry said. “The last time we faced off against him was in my first year and it was one of the best games I had been a part of in an 86-84 overtime win. I knew this was going to be a battle and I knew he was going to have his kids ready to go. The kids really responded well.

“The best part of it is we are 2-0 now, but there is still so much stuff we are doing to ourselves and we are going to get better at it. It is a lot nicer to be 2-0 and having those issues, instead of being 0-2.”

Early in the fourth quarter, the Lady Cats found themselves down 40-39 but then came their run. Foote scored four straight points to give Louisburg a three-point lead and then Moore had two steals that led to layups on the other end.

After another bucket from Moore and Melton, Louisburg all of a sudden found itself up 51-40 in about a three minute span. From there, the Lady Cats were able to hold on and secure a big road win.

Louisburg will try for three wins in a row Friday when it hosts Anderson County in its home opener. Tipoff is set for approximately 6 p.m.

“They are going to be good,” Lowry said. “They had young players last year that are juniors this year. They are a good group and it was a battle the first time we played them last year. It will be tough. We have a gauntlet coming up where we face a good Anderson County team, Frontenac is going to be tough and then we finish out with Piper before the break. We are on our home court though so we are going to defend that place with everything we have.”

LOU               13           14           8             24 – 59

BUR               14           9             13           10 – 46

LOUISBURG (2-0): Alyse Moore 22, Madilyn Melton 18, Megan Foote 8, Brooklyn Diederich 6, Delaney Wright 3, Sydni Keagle 2. 3-point field goals: 1, (Diederich)

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