Monster second quarter helps Lady Cats to road win over Ottawa

Louisburg junior Ava Baker goes up for two of her 13 points Friday at Ottawa. Baker was one of three Lady Cats to score in double figures in their 53-41 win.

OTTAWA — Louisburg was down a point Friday following one quarter of play against Ottawa.

No one could have guessed what was to come next.

The Lady Cats rattled off 26 consecutive points in the second quarter and held the Cyclones scoreless in the process. All that led to a 53-41 road win for Louisburg and evened its record to 7-7 on the season.

“It was a lot of fun to watch the girls play in the second quarter — they were on fire,” Louisburg coach Adrianne Lane said. “I honestly didn’t know what to think. I just kept calling plays and they kept making baskets. It was so awesome to see them support each other too. They got so excited every time we made a basket. They just kept feeding off of each other.”

After what was a competitive first quarter, the Lady Cats couldn’t seem to miss in the second — and when they did — they were there to get the offensive rebound and putback. Louisburg had 12 offensive rebounds for the game and scored 12 second chance points.

Defense also played a big part in the Lady Cats’ big second quarter. Louisburg forced 20 Ottawa turnovers, with a majority of those coming in the second quarter, and the Lady Cats scored 17 points off those Cyclone mistakes.

“Our defense is great,” Lane said. “From the pressure on the point guard, to the help in the lane, to guarding the weakside, we played some great defense. Each girl playing defense hard and unselfish makes us a much better team. 

“I always tell the girls that defense ends with rebounding, and Friday we did a great job of limiting second chances for Ottawa. But on the offensive end we hit the boards hard, getting offensive rebounds and put backs which I felt helped us get into our scoring run.”

Scoring wasn’t much of a problem for the Lady Cats as they got contributions from up and down their lineup. They also knocked down seven 3-pointers on the night.

Junior Adyson Ross led the way with 15 points to go along with team-high’s in rebounds (6) and steals (4). Another junior, Ava Baker, came off the bench to score a season-high 13 points and she also pulled down six boards.

Senior Jordan Mynsted also scored in double figures with 10 points, while junior Delanie Tally had eight, including a pair of 3-pointers. Junior Emma Prettyman pulled down six rebounds, while junior Emma Lohse had five from her guard spot. Junior Brianne Kuhlman also chipped in five points.

“Having several girls score on Friday was great,” Lane said. “I hope playing like we did in the second quarter will encourage the girls to continue to look for shots when they are open. The more scoring threats we have the better we will be as we finish the season and head into post-season.”

The hot streak cooled off for Louisburg in the second half as the Lady Cats scored 15 points the rest of the way, but the damage was already done after they built a 25-point halftime advantage.

“It is hard to keep up the intensity when you are up by 25 at half, but I knew Ottawa would fight back and they did,” Lane said. “During the second half I thought we were playing to not lose the lead, versus playing to win. We could have played with more emotion, but I was very proud of the girls for keeping the lead and finishing. I did think overall this was the best we had played as a team all season.”

Louisburg will look to continue that momentum tonight as the Lady Cats host Fort Scott (11-3) as they try for their third consecutive win. Varsity is scheduled to tipoff at 6 p.m.

LOU 12 26 6 9 — 53

OTT 13 0 10 18 — 41

LOUISBURG (7-7): Adyson Ross 6-10 1-3 15; Ava Baker 3-8 5-8 13; Jordan Mynsted 4-19 2-3 10; Delanie Tally 3-4 0-0 8; Brianne Kuhlman 2-3 0-0 5; Emma Lohse 1-2 2-2 2. Totals: 18-52 10-16 53. 3-point field goals: 7, (Ross 2, Tally 2, Baker 2, Kuhlman)