Moore reaches 500 rebound milestone

Louisburg senior Alyse Moore grabbed her 500th career rebound Monday at Shawnee Mission South .

Shortly before halftime of Monday’s game at Shawnee Mission South, jogged to the huddle after a timeout was called.

Moore had just pulled down an offensive rebound and had a putback to pull Louisburg within one of the Raiders. She had no idea just how special that one rebound was.

But everyone else on the team did.

Louisburg coach Adrianne Lane called the timeout and the Shawnee Mission South announcer informed the crowd that Moore had just recorded her 500th career rebound.

“Honestly I had no clue that I was even close,” Moore said. “Brooklyn (Diederich) told me after it all happened that she had found out, but it was hard for her not to tell me. I remember my mom yelling at me to get a rebound and I was like, ‘I’m trying.’  I would have never gotten it if my teammates wouldn’t have been boxing out too, but it was a great feeling for sure.”

Moore, who had a team-high 10 rebounds in Monday’s loss to the Raiders, has been the Lady Cats’ leading rebounder this season. She is currently averaging close to nine rebounds a game and her teammates were happy to see her recognized for her hard work.

“When Alyse got her 500th rebound I called time out and I told her and she was very surprised and humbled,” Lane said. “The team was super excited for her. Alyse achieving this milestone is amazing, she works so hard and is such a great leader for our team.”

It is those rebounds, and work on the inside, that sometimes go overlooked. However, Moore has made a living underneath the basket as she has already eclipsed her rebounding total from last season with one regular season game and postseason remaining.

“For rebounding, the main thing is just giving it your 100 percent all the time and having a team back you up, knowing they are going to be boxing out as well,” Moore said. “I have had people ask me before why I don’t score as much, but honestly that is not my main focus. I would much rather score my points playing good defense and getting rebounds.”

It is not like she doesn’t score. Moore has recorded numerous double-doubles on the season, including a 14 point and 10 rebound effort in her milestone game Monday and is currently averaging seven points a game.

Although the record is nice, the Louisburg senior is more concerned with her team and knows she is fortunate she gets to play in her final year.

“I am just so thankful for this year,” Moore said. “I am definitely going to remember this year the most out of the four years I have played and I feel like this is the cherry on top. I am just thankful that I have gotten the opportunity to play.”