Lady Cats overcome adversity, find positives following 6th place finish at Top Gun

Louisburg senior Jordan Mynsted was named to the Top Gun all-tournament team following the Lady Cats’ loss to Jeff West in the fifth place game Saturday at Wellsville.

WELLSVILLE — It was certainly an eventful Top Gun Tournament for the Louisburg girls basketball team.

Sure, the Lady Cats’ sixth-place finish might not be exactly what they wanted going in, but they found out a lot about themselves.

They had to battle through adversity when they lost a starter due to injury, and saw other players step up in the process. In fact, they saw themselves get better throughout the tournament.

So despite their 49-41 loss to Jefferson West on Saturday in the fifth-place game at Wellsville High School, the Lady Cats took away positives, especially on offense, where they have struggled at times this season.

“Our offense has been much better and I do feel we have gained confidence,” Louisburg coach Adrianne Lane said. “Our team has so many offensive threats, I hope that we can continue to score consistently and gain confidence as the season continues.”

Saturday’s matchup with the Tigers provided some dramatics as the Lady Cats trailed just 40-39 late in the first half. Louisburg found themselves on the wrong end of foul calls in the final three minutes, which allowed Jeff West to go on a 9-1 run to end the game.

“The girls played well together on Saturday,” Lane said. “I felt like this was one of the first games we were confident on the offensive end and I felt like we did a great job taking the ball to the basket which resulted in shooting free throws. This was a tough loss. We played point for point with this team until the last minute of the game and mentally this loss hurt.”

Senior Jordan Mynsted and junior Delanie Tally did all they could to keep the Lady Cats in the game as the two combined for 34 of the team’s 41 points.

Mynsted finished with a team-high 19 points, including 12 of 14 from the free-throw line, and added five rebounds. She was also the lone Lady Cat to be named to the all-tournament team.

“Jordan was very strong during the tournament,” Lane said. “I felt her confidence and leadership increase and the team felt it too. She did a great job working through the tough defense and she found ways to score. Jordan also did a great job of rebounding and playing tough defense, but not fouling.”

Tally, who was filling in for injured starter Delaney Wright, hit several big shots for the Lady Cats as she finished with 15 points.

Junior Emma Prettyman was a force on the glass for Louisburg as she recorded a game-high 13 rebounds, while junior Adyson Ross had seven from the guard spot.

Louisburg will try and bounce back tonight when the Lady Cats host rival Paola. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.

LOU 8 13 10 10 — 41

JW 8 10 14 17 — 49

LOUISBURG (5-7): Jordan Mynsted 3-8 12-14 19; Delanie Tally 3-8 7-8 15; Adyson Ross 1-8 1-3 3; Emma Lohse 1-4 0-0 2; Ashley Branine 1-2 0-1 2. Totals: 9-36 20-25 41. 3-point field goals: 3, (Tally 2, Mynsted)

Lady Cats down Baldwin to halt losing streak

Shortly before Thursday’s consolation semifinal game against Baldwin, Louisburg found out it would be without starter Delaney Wright, who suffered an injury during the team’s shoot-around.

Not the news the Lady Cats wanted to go hear going into a game where they had lost five straight, and had lost twice to Baldwin already this season.

As it turned out, the team rallied in Wright’s absence.

Junior Adyson Ross scored a team-high 18 points and pulled down 14 rebounds to lead the Lady Cats to a 44-41 win in Wellsville.

Another junior, Delanie Tally, started in place of Wright and scored 10 points and had eight rebounds in the big win for the Lady Cats.

“When Delaney went down in shoot around,I knew the team would feel her absence,” coach Adrianne Lane said. “Delanie Tally was thrown into the starting line-up and she did a great job stepping up for the team. Delanie’s presence was felt on both sides of the ball, she played smart defense and looked to score.

“Adyson had a heck of a game. The first half she did a fantastic job rebounding offensively and getting some easy put backs. She also did a great job handling the basketball and she hit some big free throws.”

Louisburg led 40-39 late in the game, when Tally got an offensive rebound and put back to give the Lady Cats a 3-point lead. Baldwin would again cut it to one, but with under a minute remaining, Ross hit two free throws to keep the Bulldogs at bay.

Baldwin tried for a 3-pointer in the final seconds, but couldn’t get a good look .

Senior Jordan Mynsted had nine points to also aid the Lady Cat win, as did Emma Prettyman, who finished just behind Ross with 13 rebounds. 

LOU 15 7 11 11 — 44

BAL 9 12 13 7 — 41

LOUISBURG: Adyson Ross 5-12 6-7 18; Delanie Tally 4-8 0-1 10; Jordan Mynsted 3-6 3-4 9; Ava Baker 2-7 0-0 4; Emma Prettyman 1-8 0-0 2; Brianne Kuhlman 0-8 1-2 1. Totals: 15-56 10-15 44. 3-point field goals: 4, (Ross 2, Tally 2)

Nemaha Central hands Louisburg loss in opener

Louisburg matched up with one of the top teams in the Top Gun Tournament, Nemaha Central, last Tuesday in a rematch of last year’s tournament championship game.

Although the Lady Cats put up a fight, they couldn’t keep up in a 54-47 loss.

Jordan Mynsted had a big night for the Lady Cats as she finished with 18 points, including five rebounds. Sophomore Ashley Branine come off the bench to provide a spark for Louisburg as she had eight points.

The Lady Cats stayed in the game from behind the 3-point line as they knocked down eight 3-pointers on the night, including three from Mynsted and two from Ava Baker.

LOU 11 8 11 17 — 47

NC 13 14 16 9 — 54

LOUISBURG: Jordan Mynsted 6-15 3-4 18; Ashley Branine 2-5 4-4 8; Adyson Ross 2-8 2-5 7; Ava Baker 2-7 0-0 6; Delaney Wright 1-3 0-3 3; Delanie Tally 1-1 0-0 3; Emma Lohse 1-2 0-0 2. Totals: 15-48 9-15 47. 3-point field goals: 8, (Mynsted 3, Baker 2, Wright, Ross, Tally)