Defense propels Lady Cats past Paola on Senior Night

Louisburg senior Megan Foote tries to call a timeout after diving on the floor for a loose ball Friday against Paola.

On a night where the offense wasn’t clicking on all cylinders, the Louisburg defense more than made up for it.

Louisburg, which hosted Paola on Senior Night, leaned on its defense as the Lady Cats held the Panthers to just three points in the fourth quarter and pulled away for a 44-26 victory over the Panthers.

It ended the Lady Cats’ regular season with a 16-4 record, which is their best finish since the 2014 season. Louisburg also has the No. 1 seed in sub-state action, but the Lady Cats wanted to make sure they ended on the right note.

“Winning Friday’s game was a goal for the girls,” Louisburg coach Adrianne Lane said. “They set this goal at the beginning of the season and they were very excited to reach that goal and finish the regular season with a win.”

It was also memorable night as the team honored seniors Brooklyn Diederich, Megan Foote, Madilyn Melton and Alyse Moore. Each of the four players played big roles in the victory.

Foote led the Lady Cats with 13 points and also had a team-high six steals to go along with five rebounds.

Melton also had a big performance for the Lady Cats as she recorded a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds, three assists and had two blocks.

Moore also scored in double figures with 11 points and had five rebounds and three steals, while Diederich had a team-high four assists and also had two steals.

“Seeing this group of seniors walk out on senior night was very emotional,” Lane said. “They have been big contributors to this program for several years, and they will be missed tremendously by all of us. The team’s grit and constant battle is what won the game for us on Friday, which was a great win for this group of seniors.”

Those 16 wins also have a special meaning for the four Lady Cat seniors. 

The last time they won that many games was when they were seventh-graders and finished with a perfect season, under-then coach Suzanne Reedy.

Reedy would eventually move on to become the principal at Louisburg Middle School, before her untimely passing a year ago.

So following the Lady Cats’ win, the four girls presented a framed picture of the seventh-grade team with Suzanne, to her husband, Jon. It made for an even more emotional evening.

Prior to all the ceremonies, the Lady Cats defended their home court in impressive fashion as they jumped out to a 24-13 halftime lead and never looked back.

Defensively, the Lady Cats never let Paola back in the game as they forced 27 turnovers and held the Panthers to just 22 percent shooting.

“The girls defense was great,” Lane said. “No matter what type of offensive game we are playing, our defense is always strong and the girls will battle and fight every possession. They did a great job pressing Paola and taking them out of their comfort zone.”

It is now postseason time for Louisburg as they Lady Cats are the No. 1 seed and will host No. 4 Ottawa at 7 p.m. tonight in the Class 4A sub-state semifinals.

“Our team is very excited for postseason as this is what we have been working towards all year,” Lane said. “I feel we do match up well against Ottawa and if we stay focused and play together as a team, I do think we can be successful.”

LOU 12 12 6 14 — 44

PAO 9 4 10 3 — 26

LOUISBURG (16-4): Megan Foote 2-6 7-10 13; Alyse Moore 5-7 1-2 11; Madilyn Melton 4-9 2-4 10; Jordan Mynsted 2-9 1-3 5; Delaney Wright 1-5 0-2 3; Brooklyn Diederich 0-6 1-2 1; Brianne Kuhlman 0-2 1-2 1. Totals: 14-45 13-25 44. 3-point field goals: 3, (Foote 2, Wright)

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