Lady Cats stay perfect with win over No. 4 Eudora

Louisburg celebrates its 54-49 victory over No. 4 Eudora on Friday at Eudora High School. It was the sixth straight win for the Lady Cats.

EUDORA – Louisburg had hoped to continue its hot streak after the Christmas break, but the Lady Cats had the No. 4 team in Class 4A waiting for them.

On Friday, No. 7 Louisburg traveled to Eudora in a battle of state-ranked teams and the Lady Cats pulled off one of their biggest wins in recent memory.

Louisburg used a 23-point third quarter to get out to a big lead and the Lady Cats were able to hold on for a 54-49 victory and they are now 6-0 on the season.

“The girls were very excited to get the win at Eudora,” Louisburg coach Adrianne Lane said. “When I got back to the locker room, they were cheering and screaming. This was a huge win for them, not only in the game sense, but also emotionally and mentally.”

Eudora, which has gone to the state tournament the last two seasons, featured a talented group that included a first team All-Frontier League player in Harper Schreiner. 

Defensively, the Lady Cats made things difficult on Schreiner and the rest of the Cardinals. Louisburg forced 15 turnovers and had 10 deflections that led to points in transition. 

Senior guard Megan Foote started on Schriener defensively and the rest of the Lady Cats provided help throughout the game. Even though Schreiner still finished with 19 points, 11 rebounds and five assists, the Lady Cats slowed the Cardinals down enough and they took advantage.

“Our goal to slowing down Harper was contain her when she had the ball and don’t let her get the ball back once she gets rid of it,” Lane said. “Our defense on Friday was excellent. We did a great job helping and containing like we worked on. The girls who did guard Harper did a tremendous job of not letting her get the ball back. They face guarded her, which they are not used to, and they did great.”

Offensively, the Lady Cats got a big game from Foote and junior Jordan Mynsted. 

Mynsted scored a game-high 14 points to go along with nine rebounds, while Foote added 12 points – including three 3-pointers – to go along with a team high three assists.

“Megan had a huge night,” Lane said. “She guarded Harper for most of the game and she had two huge 3’s in the third quarter. She also did a great job leading the team and keeping them calm towards the end of the game.

“Jordan had another big night for us as well. She just a natural scorer and we are super lucky to have a player like that on our team. Jordan also had nine rebounds, which was huge.”

In what was a back-and-forth first half, the Lady Cats came out strong after halftime. Louisburg scored 23 points in the third quarter and they never looked back.

Schreiner opened the third quarter with a 3-pointer to give Eudora the lead, but Louisburg responded as Foote hit two 3-pointers in the frame to give Louisburg a 32-29 advantage.

Senior Brooklyn Diederich followed up with a basket to put Louisburg up five, while senior Alyse Moore hit 3-pointer of her own and scored five straight to put the Lady Cats up seven.

After two Mynsted buckets and a Delaney Wright basket later, Louisburg had an 11-point lead.

Louisburg went through a scoring drought in the fourth quarter as Eudora battled back to cut the Lady Cats’ lead to just one with two minutes left in the game.

Senior Madilyn Melton provided the Lady Cats with the cushion they needed as she scored Louisburg’s first basket of the quarter with 1:40 left in the contest. Melton added another 40 seconds later to put Louisburg up 49-45.

A Schreiner basket cut the lead to two, but sophomore Brianne Kuhlman and Mynsted combined to go 3-for-4 from the free-throw line to seal the win.

“Madlyin’s two baskets in the fourth quarter were huge and definitely gave us the confidence to finish the game with the win,” Lane said. “I felt like the girls were playing ‘safe’ in the fourth quarter, which is what we talked about. 

“As we mature into the season I hope we can improve our “safe” play by looking for scoring opportunities as well as taking care of the ball. Making free throws in close games can make or break a team, and Brianne and Jordan did a great job finishing.”

Along with Foote and Mynsted, Moore was also productive for the Lady Cats with nine points and seven rebounds. Melton finished with eight points, six rebounds and three assists.

Diederich also affected the game with with five rebounds from her guard spot to to along with a team-high four deflections, three assists and two blocks.

Louisburg will try for its seventh straight win Tuesday when it travels to Bonner Springs. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.

LOU 17 5 23 9 – 54

EUD 13 9 14 13 – 49

LOUISBURG (6-0): Jordan Mynsted 6-15 2-4 14; Megan Foote 4-9 1-1-12; Alyse Moore 4-6 0-4 9; Madilyn Melton 4-10 0-0 8; Brooklyn Diederich 2-8 0-0 4; Delanie Tally 1-2 1-1 3; Brianne Kuhlman 0-4 2-2 2; Delaney Wright 1-5 0-0 2. Totals: 22-59 6-12 54. 3-point field goals: 4, (Foote 3, Moore)

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