Louisburg girls season comes to close with sub-state loss to Eudora

EUDORA — The task was never going to be an easy one for the Louisburg girls basketball team.

The Wildcats, the No. 15 seed, had to travel to Frontier League champion, Eudora, for the first round of sub-state action. Louisburg held strong in the first half, but a difficult third quarter ended the Wildcats’ season in a 56-26 loss to the Cardinals. 

Eudora went on to defeat Wamego for the sub-state championship Saturday and advanced to the state tournament.

“Eudora is a great team and I wish them the best of luck at the state tournament,” Louisburg coach Adrianne Lane said. “I felt like we played hard against them and we never gave up.”

Louisburg battled in the first half, despite getting down 11 after the first quarter. The Wildcats were outscored just 12-9 in the second period and trailed 27-13 at halftime.

“We face-guarded two of their players and I thought the girls who face-guarded played their roles well,” Lane said. “The other 3 girls who were not face-guarding did a great job helping and playing man to man on the remaining players. Overall the girls did a great job playing a different defense and played together.”

Eudora found a way past that defense in the third quarter as it outscored Louisburg 20-4 to all but seal the win. The Cardinals helped get that lead thanks to their defense.

Eudora forced 20 Wildcat turnovers and turned those mistakes into 22 points. The Cardinals also shot 47 percent from the floor compared to just 25 for Louisburg.

Louisburg senior Ashlyn Kuhlman led the Wildcats in scoring with nine points to go along with eight rebounds. Junior Morgan Latham finished with six points.

It was also marked the end for seven Wildcats seniors as Jillian Asher, Ally Brown, Sabra Brueggen, Ashlyn Kuhlman, Sami Lane, Addy Stohs and Shylar Whiting all played their final game in a Louisburg uniform.

“This season was a fun season for the girls and our program,” coach Lane said. “I thought we played hard and battled in every game. Losing 7 seniors will be tough moving forward, but I know the seniors will all work hard to in their futures and I am excited to see where they go in life.

“The underclassmen I know will put in the work this summer and next fall to be ready to battle next year. I am excited to see what next year brings and excited for the younger girls to show their skills.”

LOU 4 9 4 9 — 26

EUD 15 12 20 9 — 56

LOUISBURG (5-16): Ashlyn Kuhlman 3-8 0-0 9; Morgan Latham 2-5 2-2 6; Sabra Brueggen 2-6 0-0 4; Ally Brown 1-7 0-0 3; McKenna Lohse 1-4 0-0 2; Sami Lane 1-5 0-0 2. Totals: 10-39 2-2 26. 3-point field goals: 4, (Kuhlman 3, Brown)