Lady Cats advance to title game with wins over Jeff West, Wellsville

Members of the Louisburg girls basketball team celebrate a big play Thursday during the Lady Cats’ 45-39 win over Jefferson West.

WELLSVILLE – Through the first quarter-and-a-half, nothing seemed to go right for Louisburg offensively.

Jefferson West jumped out to a nine-point lead and the Lady Cats had managed just one field goal during the 12-minute stretch Thursday during the semifinals of the Top Gun Tournament in Wellsville.

Add to that, the Lady Cats were dealing with foul trouble as two players were saddled with three fouls before the end of the first quarter.

After the first 12 minutes, Louisburg had a big hill to climb. Still, the Lady Cats were able to put together one of their best comebacks of the season as they snuck past Jefferson West, 45-39, and will play in the championship game today against Nemaha Central.

“We had a very slow start against Jeff West, and they did a great job defending our inside game,” Louisburg coach Adrianne Lane said. “We only scored four points the first quarter and two of those points were from free throws. To overcome this start was huge for our team and our morale.

“Jeff West was prepared to play us, and after we got into our game we did a great job overcoming our slow start. Our great defensive effort is what kept us in the game until our shots started falling.”

Down 13-4 midway through the second quarter, the Lady Cat offense started to come to life as Megan Foote knocked down a 3-pointer and helped them to just a six-point deficit at halftime.

Louisburg (10-1) started to play with more confidence in the second half. Senior Brooklyn Diederich hit two 3-pointers, and Foote made another, to cut the Jeff West lead to just three going into the fourth.

“Megan’s leadership on the floor was felt by all the girls,” Lane said. “Megan’s 4 3-pointers were huge for our team,  and they kept us in the game.

In the fourth quarter, it was senior Madilyn Melton’s turn as she scored 11 of her 15 points to help give Louisburg a seven-point lead and the Lady Cats were able to hold on from there. Melton was also 6-for-6 from the free-throw line during that stretch and had nine rebounds on the night. 

“Madilyn was super aggressive in the fourth quarter,” Lane said. “She took advantage of the defense, drew some fouls and finished some bigs shots. She also followed her shot well and got a couple of put backs.”

Despite getting off to the slow start, the Lady Cat defense was able to keep them in the game. Senior Alyse Moore shadowed one of Jeff West’s top scorers, Mellany Roenne. 

Moore held Roenne to just four points on the night, and as a team, forced 17 Jeff West turnovers.

“I thought our defense is excellent,” Lane said, “We play so hard and battle for every possession and rebound. Alyse did outstanding guarding Roenne. She worked so hard and shut her down.”

Louisburg also had to play out of foul trouble as Diederich and Delaney Wright each had three fouls in the first quarter and point guard Brianne Kuhlman had two.

The Lady Cats were able to get production from their bench as sophomore Adyson Ross took over the point guard spot and had a team-high four assists. 

“Adyson Ross did a fantastic job for our team,” Lane said. “She came in and played about 11 minutes straight and battled for our team. She got a 5 second call against their best player and played several different roles. She had a fantastic night and we were all so excited for her.”

Along with earning a spot in the championship, there was also another reason for celebration as it was Lane’s 100th career win as a head coach and her 10th at Louisburg.

“I am so excited to get my 100th win with this team,” Lane said. They play so hard and battle for every win and Thursday was no different. We battled to the very end for this win and it was a well deserved one.”

The Lady Cats, who are ranked No. 5 in Class 4A, will square off with the No. 3 team in Class 3A, Nemaha Central. Tipoff is set for 2:45 p.m. at Wellsville High School.

It will also be the first time this group has played in a championship game together.

“The girls are so excited to play in the championship,” Lane said. “They said it’s the first time they have ever had this experience and I am so excited for them. Nemaha is a very fundamental and structured team. They will bring experience to the championship game and I think we will bring excitement.”

LOU 4 10 13 18 – 45

JW 11 9 10 9 – 39 

LOUISBURG (10-1): Megan Foote 4-8 6-9 18; Madilyn Melton 4-8 7-10 15; Brooklyn Diederich 2-4 0-0 6; Brianne Kuhlman 0-3 3-4 3; Jordan Mynsted 1-3 0-1 2; Alyse Moore 0-3 1-4 1. Totals: 11-34 17-28 45. 3-point field goals: 6, (Foote 4, Diederich 2)

Louisburg cruises past Wellsville

WELLSVILLE – Slow starts have been the theme so far for Louisburg in the Top Gun Tournament as the Lady Cats found themselves down early to Wellsville in the first round.

The Lady Cats were able to change that in the second quarter Tuesday as they held Wellsville to just one point in the second quarter and that helped pave the way for a 51-31 win.

“I was so proud of the girls and how hard they played on defense,” Lane said. “We started the game in a press for the first time and I thought we did a great job pressuring the ball and rebounding.

“I thought the girls did a great job responding to Wellsville’s quick start to the game. We stayed calm and in control even though we got down early.”

Wellsville scored the game’s first eight points and took a 15-11 lead over Louisburg at the end of the first quarter.

The second quarter was a different story as the Lady Cats outscored the Eagles 18-1 before halftime and never looked back.

Junior Jordan Mynsted and senior Alyse Moore provided a big lift in that second quarter. Moore scored seven points in the frame and Mynsted added six to help Louisburg to a 29-16 halftime lead.

Senior Madilyn Melton led Louisburg with 13 points on the night and Mynsted ended up with 12. Moore had a big night on the glass with a team-high 13 rebounds.

The Lady Cats would build a 21-point lead in the third quarter and were able to advance to the semifinals.

LOU 11 18 15 7 – 51

WEL 15 1 7 8 – 31

LOUISBURG: Madilyn Melton 5-8 3-3 13; Jordan Mynsted 5-14 2-3 12; Megan Foote 4-5 0-0 9; Alyse Moore 3-5 0-2 7; Adyson Ross 2-3 0-1 5; Delaney Wright 1-3 0-0 3; Brianne Kuhlman 1-5 0-0 2. Totals: 22-49 5-9 51. 3-point field goals: 4, (Ross, Wright, Moore, Foote)