Wildcats roll rival Paola to earn back-to-back victories

PAOLA — The Louisburg girls basketball team had hopes of starting a winning streak for the first time this season on Tuesday in Paola.

The Wildcats took full advantage of the opportunity against their rival.

Louisburg used a big fourth quarter to pull away for a 65-42 victory at Paola High School as the Wildcats won their second consecutive game. 

“It was a great feeling to get a win on the road as the girls battled and played to win,” Louisburg coach Adrianne Lane said. “The fourth quarter was big for the girls. They got into a great streak and I felt like we finally wore Paola down. It was very nice to see the girls not get down on themselves and play through Paola’s run.”

The Wildcats used a 23-7 run in the fourth quarter to end the game after Paola chipped away at the Louisburg lead in the third. The Panthers cut the Wildcat advantage to five late in the third quarter.

Louisburg opened the fourth on a 12-2 run and never let the lead get back under single digits.

Balanced scoring was also big for the Wildcats as they had four players score in double figures.

Senior Jillian Asher led Louisburg with 15 points and two steals, while senior Ashlyn Kuhlman had 14 points to go along with a team-high seven rebounds and two steals of her own.

Senior Ally Brown had 10 points and four rebounds as she was 4-for-5 from the field. Junior Morgan Latham also had 10 points to go along with five rebounds.

Latham was joined by junior McKenna Lohse on the inside as she tallied seven points, six rebounds and two steals. Senior forward Sabra Brueggen had six points and senior Sami Lane had a team-high four assists.

“Having multiple girls score was great to see,” Lane said. “If we have multiple scorers we are harder to guard and it makes the offense execution easier.”

The game was tied at 14-all after the first quarter, but the Wildcats went on a run to start the second. Louisburg outscored Paola, 19-7, in the period and took a 33-21 lead at halftime. 

Paola got back into the game with its play on the inside and was led by senior Brylynn Wicker, who scored a game-high 25 points and pulled down 18 rebounds for the Panthers.

The Wildcats were able to slow down Wicker late in the third quarter and Louisburg went on another run on offense to pull away. 

“I think we finally figured out the correct defense to run against Paola at the end of the third quarter and throughout the fourth,” coach Lane said. “We focused in on their forwards and we doubled them to try and prevent them from catching and finishing in the lane.”

Louisburg will try for three straight wins Friday as the Wildcats host Ottawa for homecoming. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.

LOU 14 19 9 23 — 65

PAO 14 7 14 7 — 42

LOUISBURG (4-10): Jillian Asher 5-10 4-6 15; Ashlyn Kuhlman 4-11 4-5 14; Morgan Latham 5-11 0-0 10; Ally Brown 4-5 0-0 10; McKenna Lohse 2-5 3-3 7; Sabra Brueggen 3-8 0-2 6; Shylar Whiting 0-4 2-2 2; Kinley Scott 0-1 1-2 1. Totals: 23-56 14-20 65. 3-point field goals: 5, (Kuhlman 2, Brown 2, Asher)

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