Lady Cats snap losing skid with road win over Ottawa

Sophomore Delaney Wright drives past an Ottawa defender Friday during the Lady Cats’ win over the Cyclones.

OTTAWA – It had been awhile since the Louisburg girls basketball team had tasted victory and the Lady Cats were becoming more and more frustrated.

They decided to take all that frustration out on Friday.

Louisburg held Ottawa to just seven first half points and the Lady Cats ran away with it from the opening tip as they snapped their six-game losing streak with a 41-24 win over the Cyclones at Ottawa High School.

“It was so much fun to see the girls smiling and having fun out on the court together, and it was even better to come out on top,” interim coach Leanna Willer said. “We all just had a great time as a team. Even when mistakes were made, no one got down on themselves and we were able to maintain a high energy throughout the entire game.”

The Lady Cats (7-8) were able to pull away thanks to their defense as they held Ottawa to just 18 percent from the field and forced 23 turnovers in the process.

Freshman Adyson Ross, who started in place of Megan Foote and was out with an illness, led the team with three steals. Junior Alyse Moore and senior Haley Cain both added two steals each. Those Cyclone mistakes led to 18 points off turnovers.

“Our defense definitely set the tone for us coming out,” Willer said. “It’s always nice to have some defensive plays that turn into offensive or transition points, and we were able to get our hands on a lot of balls and keep them out of a rhythm on offense.

“We did a much better job of moving on the flight of the ball instead of reacting, and I think we realized how much that helps us stay active and engaged. Our rebounding also improved from earlier in the week, which was nice to see as we emphasized it during practice.”

Louisburg sophomore Delaney Wright got the Lady Cats started strong with five straight points to start the game and junior Brooklyn Diederich ended the first quarter with five points of her own to give them a 12-3 lead.

The Lady Cats did much of the same in the second quarter as they outscored the Cyclones 13-4 and led 25-7 at halftime.

Diederich led Louisburg in scoring with 10 points and also had a team-high six deflections. Junior Madilyn Melton also had nine points in the win to go along with three blocks.

Moore finished with a team-high seven rebounds, while Wright had seven points and a team-best three assists.

Louisburg will try for back-to-back wins Friday when it hosts Spring Hill for homecoming. Willer believes this game can give the team confidence going into the final stretch of the season.

“This game was a huge step for us in terms of confidence and team chemistry,” Willer said. “We are really looking forward to practices focused on ourselves and doing the little things right for the remainder of the season. Our main goal is to focus on one game at a time, not worrying about the rest. We want to take care of business by playing our best game.”

LOU               12           13           6             10 – 41

OTT               3             4             8             9 – 24

LOUISBURG (7-8): Brooklyn Diederich 4-8 0-0 10; Madilyn Melton 4-6 1-1 9; Delaney Wright 2-6 2-7 7; Haley Cain 1-3 2-2 5; Alyse Moore 1-5 2-5 4; Adyson Ross 1-2 0-0 2; Jordan Mynsted 0-1 2-4 2; Sydni Keagle 0-0 2-4 2. Totals: 13-33 11-23 41. 3-point field goals: 4, (Diederich 2, Wright, Cain)

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