Lady Cats rack up postseason honors following historic year

It was a year to remember for the Louisburg girls basketball team.

The Lady Cats placed third at the Class 4A tournament, made it to state for the first time in 47 years and recorded the best finish in school history.

With all that success comes a lot of accolades, and about a month after that successful run ended, they started to pour in for several Lady Cats.

Shortly after the state tournament, the all-league team was announced and Louisburg earned five spots on the team – which was the most in the Frontier League. The Lady Cats finished second in the league standings, one game behind champion Piper.

“I was very surprised how well our team was represented with all-league nominations,” Louisburg coach Adrianne Lane said. “Our league is very tough and we have several good 4A and 5A teams. That being said, I do think playing in such a tough league made us better and ready for the postseason.”

Senior Madilyn Melton earned several postseason honors for the Lady Cats, including a spot on the All-Frontier League first team.

Melton led the Lady Cats in scoring with 10.9 points a game and was second on the team in rebounding at 6.5. She also led the team with 2 blocks a contest.

She was also named to the Sports in Kansas Class 4A all-state first team, and was named second team by the Topeka-Capital Journal and third team by the Wichita Eagle.

“Madilyn had a huge season and she was a consistent player for our team,” Lane said. “We could always count on her to score, but I was most impressed with her help-side defense and rebounding ability. 

“She played a huge role on both ends of the court for us. She ended her career with 990 points, which is now the most points a female basketball player has every scored at LHS.”

Louisburg had two selections on the all-league second team in senior Megan Foote and junior Jordan Mynsted.

Mynsted was second on the team in scoring with 10.8 points a contest and had 4.4 rebounds a game.

As for Foote, she averaged 8.6 points a game and 4.3 rebounds. She also had a team-best 2.6 steals a contest.

Foote earned honorable mention all-state honors from the Capital-Journal, Wichita Eagle and Sports in Kansas, while Mynsted was an also an honorable mention selection by Sports in Kansas.

“Megan was great on both sides of the ball this year,” Lane said. “Some games we had her guard the other team’s best player and she stepped up and worked really hard. Other games she was our leading scorer, her 3-point shot was hot this season, and other teams had to know where she was. 

“Jordan is a natural scorer, she gave our team a spark when she came in the game. She was instant offense in most games and her presence was always felt by the other team. They had to adjust their defense to be able to guard her.”

Seniors Alyse Moore and Brooklyn Diederich were honorable mention all-league selections as both played big roles for the Lady Cats.

Moore led Louisburg in rebounding with 8.6 boards a game to go along with 7.3 points and 1.7 steals.

She also earned honorable mention all-state honors from Sports in Kansas and the Wichita Eagle

As for Diederich, she averaged 5.1 points a contest and was one off the team’s best on-ball defenders. She was named an all-state honorable mention by Sports in Kansas.

“Alyse is an amazing team player,” Lane said. “She will do whatever it takes for us to win and be successful. Her rebounding and hustle helped our team be successful this season. Alyse averaged 8.6 rebounds this season, which led the Frontier League.

“Brooklyn is all hustle; her effort and hard work were felt by the team the entire season. She did a lot of really good things away from the basketball, she is always in the right position and always willing to step and help if needed. She was on the floor more than she wasn’t.”

The postseason honors didn’t stop there as Lane was named as a finalist for the Class 4A Girls Coach of the Year by Sports in Kansas. That honor eventually went to Bishop Miege’s Terry English.

In all, Lane led Louisburg to a 19-5 record on a year, a third place finish at state, the best finish in school history and second place in the Frontier League.

ALL-FRONTIER LEAGUE GIRLS BASKETBALL

First Team

Riley Smith, Baldwin, junior

Harper Schreiner, Eudora, junior

Madilyn Melton, Louisburg, senior

Evelyn Vazquez, Piper, senior

Alli Frank, Spring Hill, senior

Second Team

Jenna Harvey, Baldwin, senior

Mariyah Noel, Bonner Springs, sophomore

Jordan Mynsted, Louisburg, junior

Megan Foote, Louisburg, senior

Jessica Thomas, Piper, senior

Honorable Mention

Wren VanCleave, Bonner Springs, sophomore

Jayla Pierce, Eudora, senior

Brooklyn Diederich, Louisburg, senior

Alyse Moore, Louisburg, senior

Sofia Ficken, Ottawa, junior

Kirsten Evans, Ottawa, junior

Kate Ediger, Paola, junior

Dakiah Yates, Paola, junior

Jennifer Guilbeaux, Piper, senior

Jenna Weber, Spring Hill, sophomore

Cate Milory, Spring Hill, junior

Morgan Brusven, Tonganoxie, senior

Raegan Seba, Tonganoxie, junior