Lady Cats end busy week with big win

By Andy Brown
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Updated: February 9, 2016

Louisburg freshman Carson Buffington gets on the floor for a loose ball Friday during the Lady Cats’ homecoming game against Eudora at Louisburg High School. Buffington pulled down a team-high 14 rebounds in the 27-25 win.

Homecoming week always presents its fair share of distractions for coaches and players alike.

For the Louisburg High School girls basketball team, however, most of those distractions turned out to be good ones. Whether it was teaching a group of fourth-graders, winning an award or supporting teammate Megan Roy for homecoming queen, it was a week full of positives.

Those positives continued Friday night as the Lady Cats ended a memorable few days with a 27-25 victory over Eudora at Louisburg High School. The win also provided the Lady Cats with their second win in a week.

“It has been a great week,” Louisburg coach Shawn Lowry said. “Just everything that the girls have done and gone through this week, and with it being homecoming, it was great to see them get a win. You could definitely tell it was homecoming this week with the way the game started out, but it is not always how you script it out to be. The girls played well, different girls stepped up and they are excited about the win.”

It was a rocky start for both teams, at least offensively. The two teams combined for six points in the first quarter and Louisburg took a two-point lead into the second.

In fact, the Lady Cats (3-12) held a two-point advantage for much of the contest and had the lead for all but one possession. Louisburg extended its lead on different occasions, but Eudora always narrowed the gap.

The Louisburg bench leaps into the air with excitement as the buzzer sounds in the Lady Cats’ 27-25 win over Eudora.

Louisburg played with a bend, but don’t break mentality.

“We stepped up defensively when we needed to and we took care of the ball when we needed to,” Lowry said. “That was good to see us close out a game like that.”

The Lady Cats opened the second quarter on an 8-2 run thanks to back-to-back 3-pointers from Madisen Simpson and Paige Buffington, and Carson Buffington added another basket to push the lead to 12-4.

Eudora went on a 6-0 run of its own to end the half and the Lady Cats took a 12-10 lead at halftime.

Paige Buffington began the second half with a 3-pointer, but the Cardinals went on another mini 5-0 run to tie the game. Simpson broke the tie with a 3-pointer and Megan Lemke added a basket to widen the lead out to four points.

In times when shots weren’t falling, the Lady Cats got a boost of energy from forward Carson Buffington. The Louisburg freshman racked up a lot of hustle points as she pulled down a team-high 14 rebounds and kept several possessions alive.

“It feels really good because we put a lot of hard work and effort into it and it feels awesome to get a win,” Carson said. “We came out in the second half and gave it our all. We really pushed and it worked out for us.”

Louisburg junior Emalee Overbay leaps for a rebound during Friday’s homecoming game against Eudora.

Lowry saw a lot of good things out of Carson, who has racked up double-digit rebound totals in nearly every game this season.

“I thought a spark for us was Carson,” Lowry said. “Some of the things that she does is just amazing. She got several offensive rebounds and that was all from effort. She just comes flying out of nowhere to get those and she has been doing that all year.”

The fourth quarter was much of the same as the two teams traded baskets before the Lady Cats held off a late charge from the Cardinals to seal the win.

Simpson and Paige Buffington led the Lady Cats in scoring with eight points each and Carson added five points in the win. Junior Emalee Overbay pulled down five rebounds, while sophomore Isabelle Holtzen had a team-high three steals to help the Lady Cat defense.

The victory capped off what was as busy week for the Lady Cats, one that included a special award. On Thursday, the Lady Cats were honored with the KCTV5, Hy-Vee Team of the Week Award.

“I have enjoyed this group as much as any other group I have been around because of how hard they work together,” Lowry said. “They do it in practice and then they come out and do it in the game. This week was really great because of the character of these kids and they do everything that is asked of them. Coaches only hope they can coach a group of girls like what I have. I am very proud of them.”

LOUISBURG 4 8 10 5 – 27

EUDORA 2 8 8 7 – 25

LOUISBURG (3-12): Madisen Simpson 2-9 2-3 8; Paige Buffington 3-6 0-1 8; Carson Buffington 2-4 1-2 5; Megan Lemke 1-5 0-0 2; Isabelle Holtzen 1-7 0-0 2; Emalee Overbay 1-1 0-0 2. Totals: 10-34 3-6 27. 3-point field goals: 4, (Simpson 2, P. Buffington 2)