Lady Cats end 2018 with blowout win over Turner

Louisburg senior Carson Buffington drives to the basket during the Lady Cats’ home contest against Turner on Tuesday at LHS. Buffington finished with a game-high 12 points.

The best way for the Louisburg girls basketball team to shake off a 40-plus point loss was to record a blowout win of its own.

After losing a tough game to state-ranked Piper last week, the Lady Cats bounced back nicely Tuesday in their final game before the holiday break. Louisburg jumped to an early lead against Turner and never looked back in a 57-23 win at Louisburg High School.

“We will take this one and move on, especially after last Friday’s game and sometimes when you come back like this, you are not sure what to expect after having just one day of practice,” Louisburg coach Shawn Lowry said. “With all that said, we had moments of playing hard. Over this break, we have to do some things in regards to our team’s toughness and our effort all the time. There are times when it is good, but we have to work on it being good all the time.”

The Lady Cats (4-2) controlled the game from the opening tipoff as they jumped out to a 16-4 lead to start the game. Louisburg used its defense to get out to a big lead as sophomore Alyse Moore recorded three straight steals to end the quarter and give the Lady Cats a 20-8 lead.

It was much of the same in the second quarter as Louisburg outscored Turner 20-6 and built a 40-14 lead at halftime.

Although the game was all but wrapped up, the Lady Cats came out slow to start the second half and scored just one point through the first four minutes of the third quarter. Lowry decided to bring in five new players and it jumped start the Lady Cat offense.

Junior Sydni Keagle, sophomores Megan Foote, Brooklyn Diederich, and freshmen Delaney Wright and Jordan Mynsted gave the Lady Cats a lift as they ended the quarter on an 11-0 run to put Louisburg up 52-22.

“It was one of those times where if kids on the floor aren’t giving what I think they need to give, then there are kids on that bench that are willing to give that and they want their opportunity,” Lowry said. “Those girls worked really hard there and gave us a spark.”

Senior Carson Buffington and Diederich led the Lady Cats in scoring with 12 points. Buffington also added a team-high six rebounds, four assists and four steals, while Diederich recorded a team-high five steals.

Moore also finished in double figures with 10 points, six rebounds and four steals, while sophomore Madilyn Melton had nine points and four rebounds.

The Lady Cats have had a good start to their season as they were able to put together a winning record through their first six games, but they realize the schedule will only get harder.

“To be 4-2, and to have the upside that we have yet to come, I am happy going into break with where we are,” Lowry said. “It gives us some things to work on over break, but overall I am happy with our record and we will see what happens later.”

LOU               20           20           12           5– 57

TUR               8             6             8             1– 23

LOUISBURG (4-2): Carson Buffington 4-7 1-4 12; Brooklyn Diederich 4-11 3-7 12; Alyse Moore 2-4 6-12 10; Madilyn Melton 3-7 3-4 9; Kennia Hankinson 2-5 0-0 5; Sydni Keagle 2-4 0-3 4; Megan Foote 1-1 0-0 3; Delaney Wright 0-0 2-4 2. Totals: 18-42 15-34 57. 3-point field goals: 6, (Buffington 3, Diederich, Hankinson, Foote)

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