Lady Cats find positives in road loss to Spring Hill

Louisburg junior Sabra Brueggen battles for a rebound Thursday at Spring Hill. The Lady Cats fell 59-46.

SPRING HILL — The Louisburg girls basketball team may still be looking for its first win of the season, but the Lady Cats are taking positive steps forward.

Louisburg took a big step Thursday at Spring Hill. The Lady Cats found themselves down just five points at halftime, but the Broncos were able to pull away in the second half and hand Louisburg a 59-46 loss.

“I thought we played pretty well,” Louisburg coach Adrianne Lane said. “I think that was one of the better games we have played all year against one of the best teams we have seen. I do think we are getting better every game. We ran some better offense than we have been and we played some different defenses than we were used to. I thought they did a great job.”

Spring Hill got out to a fast start with a 15-5 lead, but the Wildcats went on a 15-5 run of their own and took a 20-19 lead on a 3-pointer from Ashlyn Kuhlman. The Louisburg junior had eight points during that stretch.

The Broncos batted back and eventually took a 27-22 lead into halftime, but the Wildcats had a lot of positives go their way in the first half. 

“Going into halftime, I think the girls were pretty excited and optimistic knowing that they can play with teams like that,” Lane said. “I think there were times in the second half where our offense was even better. I just keep telling the girls that this is all experience for them after not starting the season with any varsity experience. It hasn’t even been half the season yet, but we are getting better.”

Spring Hill eventually built a double-digit lead in the second half. Junior Sami Lane hit a 3-pointer to make it an eight-point game, but it would be as close as Louisburg would get. 

Louisburg junior Sabra Brueggen was active inside with a team-high 13 points as she got to the free-throw line 12 times. Kuhlman also scored in double figures with 11.

Sophomore McKenna Lohse led the Lady Cats with eight rebounds on the night, while Sami Lane finished with seven points and six rebounds.

The Broncos’ Isla Herman and Sydney Buscher combined for 42 of Spring Hill’s 59 points. Buscher finished with a double-double of 21 points and 11 rebounds and Herman also scored 21 points.

Louisburg will try for that first win starting tonight as the Wildcats host Northeast Kansas, a home school team out of Topeka, in the first round of the Louisburg Invitational. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. 

LOU 10 12 11 13 — 46

SH 17 10 17 15 — 59

LOUISBURG: Sabra Brueggen 3-5 7-12 13; Ashlyn Kuhlman 4-9 1-2 11; Sami Lane 3-7 0-0 7; Ally Brown 2-7 0-0 5; Jillian Asher 1-5 0-0 3; McKenna Lohse 0-1 3-6 3; Addy Stohs 1-2 0-0 2; Mogan Latham 0-0 1-2 1; Shylar Whiting 0-3 1-3 1. Totals: 14-40 13-27 46. 3-point field goals: 5, (Kuhlman 2, Asher, Lane, Brown)

Lady Cats fall to Baldwin

A rough start sunk any hopes of an upset for the Louisburg girls basketball at home Friday as Baldwin scored 32 points in the first half and ran away with a 52-31 win over the Lady Cats. 

Baldwin took a 32-9 lead at halftime and the Lady Cats struggled to get much going offensively as they shot just 24 percent for the game.

Jillian Asher led Louisburg in scoring with eight points and sophomore Morgan Latham finished with seven.

Junior Ashlyn Kuhlman had a team-high five rebounds to go along with eight blocked shots. 

Baldwin’s Alyssa Reichard had a team-high 19 points to lead the Bulldogs.

LOU 5 4 8 14 — 31

BAL 17 15 17 3 — 52

LOUISBURG (0-8): Jillian Asher 2-5 3-4 8; Morgan Latham 2-5 3-3 7; Ashlyn Kuhlman 1-7 2-2 4; Shylar Whiting 2-9 0-0 4; Sami Lane 1-7 0-0 3; Ally Brown 1-3 0-0 2; Addy Stohs 1-3 0-1 2. Totals: 10-42 9-14 31. 3-point field goals: 2, (Asher, Lane)