Lady Cats put together dominant effort in win over Tonganoxie

Louisburg junior Ashley Branine drives to the basket Friday at Tonganoxie High School. The Lady Cats rolled to a 55-11 win in their season opener.

TONGANOXIE — The Louisburg girls basketball team put together a season opener to remember Friday at Tonganoxie.

Louisburg held Tonganoxie scoreless in two quarters and allowed just 11 total points in its 55-11 victory over the Chieftains on the road. The Lady Cats scored the first 26 points of the game and never looked back.

“I thought the girls played very well on Friday,” Louisburg coach Adrianne Lane said. “Our defense was fantastic and the girls did a great job finishing in transition.”

The Lady Cats opened the game with a full-court press and it paid dividends. For the game, they forced 33 turnovers and turned those into 40 points.

Louisburg also controlled the paint as it out rebounded Tonganoxie 52-24. Although the Lady Cats shot just 33 percent for the game, they controlled the game from the opening tip.

“The starters began the game in full speed and they did a great job setting the pace,” Lane said. “Once we got started I felt like every sub that went in felt the energy and kept the pace.

“I was so proud of the girls and their efforts in the full court. We have been working hard and changing up our defenses and they executed well.”

Senior guard Adyson Ross had a big game for the Lady Cats and was a factor on both ends of the floor. Ross finished with a game-high 16 points and 12 rebounds — all of which came on the offensive end. She also had four steals.

“Adyson was ready,” Lane said. “She has been working so hard in practice. She had a great game and her leadership was felt by the entire team.”

Senior point guard Brianne Kuhlman also finished in double figures with 10 points. Kuhlman pulled down seven rebounds and a team-high seven steals.

Delaney Tally finished just shy of double figures with nine points and she added five rebounds and four steals. Senior Emma Lohse knocked down a pair of 3-pointer and tallied eight points.

The Lady Cats opened the game on a 26-0 run and never looked back as they took a 32-7 advantage at halftime.

Louisburg also got good production from their bench as sophomores Shylar Whiting, Mackenzie Rooney, Addy Stohs and Sami Lane all scored their first varsity points.

“Every minute that the bench gets to play is experience for the future,” coach Lane said. “The sophomores did a great job coming in and keeping the pace up and intensity. The sophomore group works very hard in practice against the upperclassmen, they make them better every day, so I was so glad they got the opportunity to get in the game.”

Louisburg will try for back-to-back wins Tuesday when the Lady Cats host Burlington in their home opener. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.

LOU 17 15 10 13 — 55

TONG 0 7 4 0 — 11

LOUISBURG (1-0): Adyson Ross 8-18 0-1 16; Brianne Kuhlman 5-10 0-0 10; Delanie Tally 4-13 0-0 9; Emma Lohse 2-8 2-2 8; Shylar Whiting 1-1 0-0 3; Ashley Branine 1-7 0-0 2; Mackenzie Rooney 1-3 0-0 2; Emma Prettyman 1-3 0-0 2; Addy Stohs 1-2 0-0 2; Sami Lane 0-4 1-2 1. Totals: 24-72 3-5 55. 3-point field goals: 4, (Lohse 2, Tally, Whiting)