Lady Cats get revenge win over Ottawa on homecoming

Louisburg point guard Brianne Kuhlman passes it to an open teammate Friday during the Lady Cats’ homecoming game against Ottawa.

After losing to Ottawa earlier in the season, the Louisburg girls basketball team wanted to make a statement.

The Lady Cats wanted to prove they were better than what they showed a month ago and they got that chance Friday when they hosted the Cyclones. 

Louisburg took full advantage.

The Lady Cats held Ottawa to just eight first half points and cruised to a 50-35 homecoming win over the Cyclones. It was also the second straight win for Louisburg as it improved to 10-5 on the season.

“The team was very excited to get the win on Friday,” Louisburg coach Adrianne Lane said. “We have worked very hard over the past several weeks to get better and be able to beat them.”

Defense was at the top of the list of priorities for the Lady Cats and they made their presence felt. Louisburg held Ottawa to just 25 percent shooting and forced 18 turnovers.

Louisburg turned those Ottawa mistakes into 17 points and the Lady Cats also pulled down 13 offensive rebounds to account for 10 second chance points.

“Defense was key for us on Friday,” Lane said. “We practiced defense a lot last week leading up to the game. Ottawa does a great job of getting into the lane, so we focused on not letting the offense cut in front of our faces and weakside help.”

Offensively, the Lady Cats also got scoring from up and down its lineup as three players scored in double figure. It all started with senior Adyson Ross.

Ross recorded a double-double as she led the Lady Cats with 17 points to go along with 11 rebounds. Senior guard Delanie Tally was also in double figures with 11 points, including three 3-pointers. Another senior, Ava Baker, added 10 points and a pair of 3-pointers.

“Adyson was great on Friday, and she does a fantastic job of creating shots for herself and movement in the offense and her rebounding has been great the whole season,” Lane said. “Her offensive rebounding has given us several second chances and they have paid off.

“Having three players score in double digits is great for the team. It’s hard for other teams to guard us when we have so many scoring threats. And we have had several different leading scorers throughout the season.”

Senior point guard Brianne Kuhlman also had a big night as she was second on the team with six rebounds and led Louisburg with four assists, along with Tally. Kuhlman also had five points in the win.

Louisburg took control of the game early as the Lady Cats jumped out to a 14-4 at the end of the first quarter. They then scored the first eight points of the second quarter to go up 18, before leading 22-8 at halftime.

The Lady Cats kept the Cyclones at arm’s length the rest of the way as Ottawa wasn’t able to trim the lead to under 10 as the Lady Cats were able to empty their bench in the final minute.

Louisburg will try and make it three straight wins Tuesday when it hosts Tonganoxie in a rematch from the season opener. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.

“I feel the team is strong right now,” Lane said. “We have been playing well together as a team and I think we will continue to get better and better each week. We have to keep battling and fighting until the last game.”

LOU 14 8 16 12 — 50

OTT 4 4 14 13 — 35

LOUISBURG (10-5): Adyson Ross 5-13 6-6 17; Delanie Tally 4-13 0-0 11; Ava Baker 4-11 0-0 10; Brianne Kuhlman 2-8 1-1 5; Ashley Branine 2-5 0-0 4; Emma Lohse 1-3 0-0 3. Totals: 18-55 7-9 50. 3-point field goals: 7, (Tally 3, Baker 2, Lohse, Ross)