Defense keys Lady Cats in win over Paola

Louisburg senior Madilyn Melton drives the lane during Tuesday’s contest at Paola High School. Melton finished with a game-high 18 points.

PAOLA — Defense was on full display for Louisburg during Tuesday’s rivalry game at Paola High School.

Louisburg, which was fresh off a frustrating loss to Nemaha Central in the championship game of the Top Gun Tournament, took its frustrations out on Paola. The Lady Cats smothered the Panthers from the start of the second quarter and never looked back.

The Lady Cats forced 33 Paola turnovers and used its defense to pull away for a 54-32 victory. Louisburg, the No. 5 team in Class 4A, is now 11-2 on the season.

“The girls were very excited to play Paola,” Louisburg coach Adrianne Lane said. “They wanted to win and I thought it showed in our play. Having all 3 teams (varsity, JV and freshman) beat Paola was very exciting for our program.”

The Lady Cats held a 10-6 lead after the end of the first quarter, but Paola got even worse news as it also lost starter Kate Ediger to an ankle injury that kept her out the rest of the game. 

With a thin Paola bench already, Louisburg took advantage as it pressed the Panthers the rest of the way, which led to the 33 turnovers. The Lady Cats then turned those Panther mistakes into 28 points and held Paola to a combined 14 points in the second and third quarters.

“Our defense against Paola was key,” Lane said. “We pressed pretty much the whole game, but I felt like it all came together at the end of the second quarter and beginning of the third quarter. We had several steals and easy baskets to put us ahead. I thought we did a great job playing as a team and trusting our teammates.”

Louisburg actually found itself down a point early in the second quarter, but the Lady Cats used their defense to go on a 16-0 run to end the first half and go into halftime with a 28-13 lead.

The third quarter was much of the same as the Lady Cats opened the second half on a 13-2 run to help put the game away.

Senior Madilyn Melton had a big game inside for Louisburg as she finished with a game-high 18 points and also had seven rebounds and two blocks.

Junior Jordan Mynsted had a big game on both sides of the ball as she finished in double figures with 12 points, but also had a team-high nine steals. 

Seniors Megan Foote and Alyse Moore added eight points each, while Foote added six rebounds, five assists and five steals to her line. Moore was also active with four steals of her own.

Louisburg was able to empty its bench at the same time and watched as sophomores Emma Lohse and Emma Prettyman both scored. Prettyman shot a long jumper toward the end that brought the Lady Cat bench out of their chairs.

“I love how excited the girls get for each other,” Lane said. “The definition of team really showed on Tuesday through our play and excitement on the bench.”

The Lady Cats will try and make it back-to-back wins tonight when they host Ottawa for homecoming. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.

LOU 10 18 13 13 – 54

PAO 6 7 7 12 – 32 

LOUISBURG (11-2): Madilyn Melton 7-9 4-4 18; Jordan Mynsted 4-12 4-4 12; Alyse Moore 3-10 2-2 8; Megan Foote 3-8 1-1 8; Brianne Kuhlman 1-4 1-2 3; Emma Lohse 0-0 2-2 2; Emma Prettyman 1-3 0-0 2; Delaney Wright 0-3 1-4 1. Totals: 19-56 15-19 54. 3-point field goals: 1, (Foote)