Big second quarter lifts Lady Cats to third straight victory

Junior Ava Baker records one of Louisburg’s 12 steals on the night Friday in the Lady Cats’ 48-22 victory over Anderson County in their home opener.

The Louisburg girls basketball team didn’t have the best start to its home opener Friday against Anderson County.

In the second quarter, however, the Lady Cats flipped a switch and never looked back.

Louisburg outscored the Bulldogs by 15 in the second quarter and held the Bulldogs to just six points combined in the second and third quarters. It all added up to a 48-22 rout over Anderson County.

“Our defense was great again,” Louisburg coach Adrianne Lane said. “We had great ball pressure and caused several turnovers. Once we figured out that we needed to adjust to their height, we did a great job offensively.”

The Lady Cat defense caused the Bulldogs fits most of the night as they forced 27 turnovers, which led to 13 Louisburg points. They also held Anderson County to just 21 percent shooting.

Louisburg (3-0) led just 10-8 at the end of the first quarter, but came to life in the second as it outscored Anderson County 18-3 to end the first half with a 28-11 lead.

Defense was again front and center in the third quarter as the Lady Cats held the Bulldogs to just three points again and all but sealed the win.

Offensively, it wasn’t Louisburg’s best performance of the season as it just shot 27 percent for the game. However, the Lady Cats knocked down seven 3-pointers from five different players to help open the floor.

Junior Adyson Ross scored a team-high 13 points, including a pair of 3-pointers, and also had five rebounds and three steals.

Senior Jordan Mynsted also scored in double figures with 10 points and seven rebounds to go along with four blocked shots. Junior Ava Baker also came off the bench to hit a pair of 3-pointers and also had three steals.

Another senior, Delaney Wright, had five points and three steals, while junior Emma Lohse came off the bench to score five points and also pulled down five rebounds. Junior Emma Prettyman had a team-high seven rebounds.

Louisburg will try for its fourth win in a row tonight as the Lady Cats travel to Baldwin for a 6 p.m. tip.

“Baldwin will be our toughest competition so far this season,” Lane said. “They are super quick and run the floor well. We are planning to slow them down with tough defense and be in control on offense. We also need to be smart on our shot selection.”

LOU 10 18 7 13 — 48

AC 8 3 3 8 — 22

LOUISBURG (3-0): Adyson Ross 3-7 5-7 13; Jordan Mynsted 3-12 4-4 10; Ava Baker 2-4 0-0 6; Emma Lohse 2-6 0-1 5; Delaney Wright 1-6 2-6 5; Emma Prettyman 2-8 0-0 4; Delanie Tally 1-3 0-0 3; Brianne Kuhlman 1-8 0-0 2. Totals: 15-56 11-18 48. 3-point field goals: 7, (Ross 2, Baker 2, Lohse, Wright, Tally)