Lady Cats fall to Piper in battle for Frontier League title

Louisburg junior Jordan Mynsted tries to get a shot up past the Piper defense Friday in the Lady Cats’ 48-35 loss.

With the Frontier League championship on the line, the Louisburg girls basketball team hosted Piper in one of its biggest games of the year. 

The two teams were tied atop the league standings with just one loss, and with just a couple games left on the schedule, one had a chance to be in the driver’s seat.

Unfortunately for the Lady Cats, that team was Piper. The Pirates held Louisburg to just five points in the fourth quarter and handed the Lady Cats a 48-35 loss, in a game that was closer than the score indicated.

“The girls were very sad after our loss to Piper,” Louisburg coach Adrianne Lane said. “I felt like the girls were playing not to lose rather than playing to win. I thought they played hard the entire game, and we will get better from playing a team that pressures like Piper did.”

It was a close game throughout, but the Pirate defense turned out to be the difference in the game. Piper pressured the Lady Cats the entire night and made it difficult for Louisburg to get in a rhythm offensively.

Piper finished the game with 13 steals and scored 13 points off those turnovers.

“Piper’s pressure was the most we had seen all year,” Lane said. “They pressed us pretty much the whole game and their pressure did throw us off of our normal game. We had a hard time setting up offense and getting offenses ran. They also did a great job of guarding our 3-point shooters.”

Louisburg played some of defense of its own as Piper struggled to score as it shot just 26 percent for the game. The Lady Cats played their best in the third quarter.

Trailing 27-21 at halftime, Louisburg held Piper to just three points in the third quarter and took a one point lead thanks to five straight points from Megan Foote, free throws from Alyse Moore and a basket by Jordan Mynsted.

The Pirates tied the game going into the fourth quarter, and with under three minutes left, Louisburg trailed by just three points. From there, Piper went on an 8-0 run to end the game and stayed atop the league standings.

“I thought in the fourth quarter we got down after Piper hit a couple of buckets, and we did not recover from that,” Lane said. 

Senior Madilyn Melton helped keep the Lady Cats in the game as she finished with a team-high 13 points and had eight rebounds.

Moore also had a strong game as she recorded a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds to go along with three assists.

LOU 12 9 9 5 — 35

PIP 12 15 3 18 — 48

LOUISBURG (14-3): Madilyn Melton 5-12 3-4 13; Alyse Moore 3-10 4-4 10; Megan Foote 2-9 0-1 5; Jordan Mynsted 2-10 0-0 4; Brooklyn Diederich 1-3 0-0 3. Totals: 13-50 7-9 35. 3-point field goals: 2, (Diederich, Foote)

Lady Cats roll Fort Scott

FORT SCOTT — It was one of those nights where Louisburg could do no wrong from behind the 3-point line.

The Lady Cats knocked down 11 3-point shots and helped them to a 58-24 rout of Fort Scott on Thursday at Fort Scott High School.

In fact, Louisburg made as many three’s as it did 2-point shots as the Lady Cats were able to effectively attack the Fort Scott zone all night.

“The girls’ teamwork was great, they played together and battled the entire game,” Louisburg coach Adrianne Lane said. “I was so proud of all the girls and how hard they played. I love the confidence the girls have. They are not afraid to shoot the 3 and it really paid off.”

After a close first quarter, the Lady Cats really took off as they outscored Fort Scott 20-2 in the second quarter and went into halftime with a 19-point lead.

Louisburg, which forced 18 turnovers, held the Tigers to just 10 second half points and were able to force a running clock in the fourth quarter.

Nine different players scored for the Lady Cats and they were led by 13 points from Megan Foote, who connected on four 3-pointers. Foote also handed out a team-high seven assists.

Junior Jordan Mynsted finished with 11 points, while senior Brooklyn Diederich knocked down three 3-pointers and finished with nine points.

Seniors Madilyn Melton and Alyse Moore led the team in rebounding with eight and seven, respectively.

LOU 13 20 14 11 — 58

FS 12 2 7 3 — 24

LOUISBURG: Megan Foote 4-8 1-2 13; Jordan Mynsted 5-10 1-2 11; Brooklyn Diederich 3-6 0-0 9; Brianne Kuhlman 3-5 0-2 8; Madilyn Melton 3-6 0-0 6; Alyse Moore 1-3 1-6 3; Delaney Wright 1-4 0-0 3; Emma Lohse 1-2 0-0 3; Adyson Ross 1-4 0-0 2. Totals: 22-53 3-12 58. 3-point field goals: 11, (Foote 4, Diederich 3, Kuhlman 2, Lohse, Wright)

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