Louisburg sophomore Haley Cain gets on the floor for a loose ball during the Lady Cats seventh-place game against Anderson County Saturday in the Top Gun Tournament at Wellsville High School.

WELLSVILLE – It would have been easy for the Louisburg girls basketball team to just push its seventh-place game aside Saturday in what was an already tough Top Gun Tournament.

Earlier in the week, the Lady Cats had double-digit losses to state-ranked Piper and Frontier League foe Spring Hill, and they have a game with rival Paola looming on the horizon.

The Lady Cats placed all of that behind them and put together a strong performance Saturday to close out the Wellsville tournament. Louisburg took control of the game from the start against Anderson County and never looked back in a 51-22 victory to finish in seventh place.

“It was an awesome midseason tournament to play in,” Louisburg coach Shawn Lowry said. “We talked before it started about the caliber of teams that we were going to go up against. It was great to watch some of them and it was great to play some of them.

“The girls could have come out flat in our last game, and have not enough emotion, but they didn’t. They played with a lot of toughness, effort, togetherness, unselfishness – just like they did the first two games. I was really proud of that.”

Louisburg came to life offensively in the second and third quarters as it scored a combined 35 points in the two frames to help pull away thanks to its defense.

The Lady Cats turned Anderson County over many different times during the contest, which led to easy transition points on the other end.

“If we can use some of our athleticism, we would like to,” Lowry said. “It worked for us this time. We have some things that we still need to work on.”

Senior guard Isabelle Holtzen led the Lady Cats in scoring with 12 points and fellow senior Bailey Belcher added 11 in the win. Buffington finished with nine points, including three 3-pointers, and ended the tournament with 27 rebounds in the three games.

Louisburg (5-8) already had control of the game with a 29-10 lead at halftime, but the Lady Cats all but sealed the win with a monstrous start to the second half. They opened the third quarter with a 14-0 run and ended their tournament on a solid note.

“We talked about those first couple minutes of the third quarter, and how important they are,” Lowry said. “Regardless of what is going on in the game score-wise, it seems like those first two or three minutes of the third quarter and so big in determining what is going to happen in that second half. They always respond well with that.”

Freshman Brooklyn Diederich passes off to a teammate Saturday. Diederich finished second in the tournament’s free throw competition.

Following the tournament, two Lady Cat players also earned honors.

Freshman Brooklyn Diederich placed second in the tournament’s free throw competition as she made 22 of 30 over three days, finishing just one behind Wellsville’s Ally Newhouse.

Senior Mikayla Quinn was also named to the tournament’s all-academic team.

For the first time in more than three weeks, the Lady Cats will return home tonight when it hosts Paola in a 6 p.m. tipoff. They will follow that up with another home game against Eudora on Friday for homecoming.

LOU               10           19           16           6 – 51

ANDCO         4             6             4             8 – 22

LOUISBURG (5-8): Isabelle Holtzen 12, Bailey Belcher 11, Carson Buffington 9, Sydni Keagle 5, Alyse Moore 4, Madilyn Melton 4, Brooklyn Diederich 3, Haley Cain 2, Carlee Gassman 1. Totals: 20 6-11 51. 3-point field goals: 5, (Buffington 3, Diederich, Keagle).

LOUISBURG FALLS TO SPRING HILL, NO. 3 PIPER

In what could be called one of the tougher tournaments in the state, that features four state-ranked teams, Louisburg had its hands full from the opening game of the Top Gun Tournament.

The Lady Cats opened play against No. 3 Piper on Jan. 23 and couldn’t keep up with the Pirates in a 72-41 loss.

Louisburg then had to square off with Spring Hill in the consolation semifinals Thursday, and despite keeping it close in the first half, came up short in a 65-40 defeat.

Against Spring Hill, the Lady Cats played the Broncos tough as they trailed just 27-17 at halftime before the Broncos opened the game up in the second half.

“It has been a process from the start and I think the first quarter or first half of the Spring Hill game really showed our development and the continued work that we are getting in with our kids,” Lowry said. “They are learning, growing and getting better. Our younger players are stepping up and I think that first half shows we aren’t that far away come March, but we have a lot of work to do between now and then, but we are getting there.

“The first time we played them (a 30-point loss), it wasn’t much as what they did to us as what we did to ourselves. I think that is part of a young, inexperienced team. The more experience we get, the better we are going to be and I think that showed in that first half.”

Carson Buffington led the Lady Cats with 11 points, while freshman Madilyn Melton finished with seven and sophomore Haley Cain added six.

Piper also proved to be worthy of its ranking as it used a 26-point third quarter to help seal its win over Louisburg. Senior Isabelle Holtzen scored a team-high 13 points in the loss and Cain finished with nine.

LOU               13           4             12           11 – 40

SH                                                                        65

LOUISBURG: Carson Buffington 11, Madilyn Melton 7, Haley Cain 6, Alyse Moore 5, Brooklyn Diederich 3, Isabelle Holtzen 3, Sydni Keagle 3, Bailey Belcher 2. Totals: 14 9-16 40. 3-point field goals: 3, (Buffington 2, Diederich)

LOU               9             12           12           8 – 41

PIP                 19           16           26           11 – 72

LOUISBURG: Isabelle Holtzen 13, Haley Cain 9, Carson Buffington 8, Bailey Belcher 5, Madilyn Melton 5, Alyse Moore. Totals: 10 17-22 41. 3-point field goals: 4, (Belcher, Buffington, Cain, Holtzen)

Louisburg senior Bailey Belcher goes up for a layup Wednesday during the Lady Cats’ game at Spring Hill. Belcher scored a team-high 13 points in the 70-37 loss. 

SPRING HILL – It was a game the Louisburg High School girls basketball team wanted to quickly forget.

The Lady Cats had a tough time stopping a Spring Hill team that lived in the paint as the Broncos handed Louisburg a 70-37 loss Wednesday at Spring Hill High School.

It was game that featured mistakes on both ends of the floor for Louisburg, but if there is a positive, those mistakes are all correctable.

“We had breakdowns and those are things we are going to have to get back into practice and work on,” Louisburg coach Shawn Lowry said. “Part of it is some inexperience, at this point though, we have to start to reduce that. We are no longer a senior, junior, a sophomore or a freshman. We are a group of basketball players and we each have individual jobs to do.

“This is a good group of kids and they are going to work their tails off. They want to do the right things and they care about each other. This bothers them and I am going to be anxious to see how they respond.”

Spring Hill jumped out to a big lead early and never let up and it led Louisburg 36-19 at halftime. After an even third quarter, the Broncos went on a 21-4 run in the fourth to seal the win.

The Broncos were able to run a lot of motion offense, which led to a lot of easy points near the basket, and Louisburg couldn’t get enough stops early on in the game.

“They are a good team, but we didn’t rise to the occasion of playing a good team,” Lowry said. “We have some things to figure out about ourselves and each other. We play in one of the strongest tournaments in the state next week we are going to find out a lot about ourselves and how we will respond to how we played against Spring Hill.”

Louisburg senior Bailey Belcher led the Lady Cats in scoring with 13 points, including three 3-pointers, and also added seven rebounds.

Forward Carson Buffington was one point away from another double-double for Louisburg as he finished with nine points to go along with a team-high 10 rebounds. Sophomore Haley Cain and Madilyn Melton added five rebounds in the loss, and senior guard Isabelle Holtzen had a team-high four assists.

This week will present several challenges for the Lady Cats as they compete in the Top Gun Tournament at Wellsville High School beginning Tuesday. Louisburg is the No. 7 seed and will open with No. 2 Piper, which is currently undefeated on the season. The Lady Cats will also play on Thursday and Saturday.

Along with Piper, which is ranked No. 3 in Class 4A-Division I, is Baldwin (No. 1 in Class 4A-DII), Lansing (No. 1 in 5A) and Nemaha Central (No. 3 in 3A).

“It is a fantastic midseason tournament just looking at the teams that will be there,” Lowry said. “There is one of the best teams in 3A there in Nemaha Central. Baldwin and Piper are undefeated in 4A, then you mix in a Lansing team that is ranked No. 1 in 5A. Wellsville and Spring Hill are really nice teams too. It is an incredible field of teams and it will be a fun one to be a part of.”

LOU               9             12           12           4 – 37

SH                  18           18           13           21 – 70

LOUISBURG (4-6): Bailey Belcher 13, Carson Buffington 9, Carlee Gassman 5, Isabelle Holtzen 4, Haley Cain 3, Sydni Keagle 2, Madilyn Melton 1. Totals: 11-58 10-26 37. 3-point field goals: 5, (Belcher 3, Buffington 2)

Louisburg sophomore Carlee Gassman drives to the basket for a layup Friday against De Soto. Louisburg came up short in a 54-40 loss at De Soto High School.

DE SOTO – Going on the road in the Frontier League is difficult enough on normal nights, but the Louisburg girls basketball team found itself down a starter for Friday’s contest at De Soto.

The Lady Cats were without senior captain Isabelle Holtzen, who was competing at the Class 4A state debate tournament, and they had to find a way to make up for her production.

De Soto proved to be too much for Louisburg on both sides of the floor as Louisburg fell, 54-40, and the Lady Cats are now 1-3 in Frontier League play and 4-5 overall.

“Our rotation was a little shorter and some girls were on the floor a little longer than maybe I want them to be,” Louisburg coach Shawn Lowry said. “It is what it is and the next girl has to be ready to go and be ready to play. That is why we work as hard as we do in practice, so when we have a situation like that, they are prepared.

“We were kinda flat. We talk a lot about adversity, and the girls didn’t lay down or quit and they kept battling. This is a journey that we are on and we have to have people that are stepping up at different times and doing more and learning more. This is still part of that learning process for us, even a game like this.”

De Soto took control of the game early on. The two teams were tied at 5-all early, but De Soto went on a 10-4 run to end the first quarter. The Lady Cats couldn’t get in a rhythm offensively in the second quarter and De Soto built a 31-16 halftime lead.

Sophomore Sydni Keagle goes up for two points on Friday in De Soto.

Louisburg couldn’t trim the De Soto lead to single digits in the second half as it shot 31 percent for the game.

“We did a lot of stuff to ourselves,” Lowry said. “De Soto is a good team, they were well-coached and they were physical. It wasn’t anything that we weren’t prepared for, but we just didn’t execute as well as we should have.

“That is a mentality thing and we just have to be better. We just have to be able to finish some of those shots and watching the ball go through the basket is just about mentality.”

Lady Cat junior Carson Buffington recorded a double-double to lead Louisburg with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Sophomore forward Haley Cain also scored in double figures with 10 points.

Freshman Madilyn Melton added nine points in the loss and fellow freshman Alyse Moore was second on the team with eight rebounds.

Louisburg will try and get back on the winning track Wednesday when it travels to Spring Hill for a 6 p.m. contest.

LOU               9             7             11           13 – 40

DES                15           16           10           13 – 54

LOUISBURG (4-5): Carson Buffington 11, Haley Cain 10, Madilyn Melton 9, Carlee Gassman 4, Brooklyn Diederich 3, Sydni Keagle 2, Bailey Belcher 1. Totals: 15-49 6-21 40. 3-point field goals: 4, (Melton 2, Buffington, Diederich)

Senior Isabelle Holtzen goes up for two of her 13 points during Tuesday’s road contest at Frontenac High School. Holtzen and the Lady Cats forced 22 Frontenac turnovers en route to a 64-56 win. 

FRONTENAC – The Louisburg girls basketball team picked the right time to have its best offensive game of the season when it hit the road Tuesday in Frontenac.

As good as the Lady Cats’ offense was, their defense might have been even better.

Louisburg forced 22 turnovers on its way to a 64-56 victory over Frontenac and evened their record to 4-4 on the season. The Lady Cats used a lot of those turnovers and turned them into offense as they simply outran the Raiders to a win.

“We practice that way,” Louisburg coach Shawn Lowry said. “After getting back off break and just getting back into the gym all together, the girls have practiced great. I expected that effort and toughness on the road against a really good team at their place and it is never easy to play down here.”

The Lady Cats employed a frantic-style defense that allowed them to trap the Frontenac guards and it ended up forcing 19 steals. Those steals became points for Louisburg on the other end as it held the lead for 29 of the game’s 32 minutes.

Louisburg pushed the ball offensively for many of those 32 minutes and got easy transition baskets thanks to its frenetic pace.

“We did some different things defensively that we have been working on and that we have been putting in over break,” Lowry said. “There is a lot of breakdown stuff that we have to clean up and fix, but overall I love the effort, the toughness and we have some athletic girls that can cover some ground. We have some freshmen that are still figuring some stuff out, but overall I was really happy with it.

“I thought we did a really good job of pushing the ball up the floor and we were the aggressor on defense for the most part. When we weren’t, that is when they got back in the game a little bit and we have to stay the aggressor and use our speed and athleticism to our advantage.”

It was a team effort as Louisburg had four players in double figures for the first time this season.

Junior Carson Buffington had a big night as she recorded a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds to go along with five steals. Senior guard Bailey Belcher led the Lady Cats in scoring with 14 points and also finished with six rebounds, four assists and three steals.

Isabelle Holtzen, another senior guard, was a catalyst on the defensive end for Louisburg as she joined Buffington with a team-high five steals. She also scored 13 points and added four rebounds and four assists.

Freshman Alyse Moore goes up for a layup Tuesday against Frontenac.

Sophomore Carlee Gassman gave the Lady Cats some big minutes as well with 12 points, seven rebounds and three steals. Sophomore Haley Cain added six points in the win, while freshman Alyse Moore finished with nine rebounds.

“(Frontenac) played a lot of zone against us, so our guards had to be solid,” Lowry said. “They were all good, and we do have some that are still learning, but they are learning from some great upperclassmen.”

The game didn’t get off to the start the Lady Cats had hoped as Frontenac scored the first five points of the game to take a quick lead, but the Louisburg defense quickly changed that around.

Louisburg went on a 15-3 run in which it didn’t allow a field goal. Buffington hit two 3-pointers during the run and Melton got it started with a 3-pointer of her own. Gassman and Holtzen each added baskets to help give Louisburg a 19-13 lead going into the second quarter.

The Lady Cats built a 14-point lead midway through the second and eventually led 35-26 at halftime.

Frontenac made a mini-run to start the third quarter and trimmed the Lady Cat lead to five, but Louisburg went on a 9-2 run to end the frame and took back its 14-point advantage.

The Raiders were able to crawl back and get within four with two minutes left in the game, but the Lady Cats took advantage of their free-throw opportunities down the stretch to hold on.

“We weren’t very good that first three minutes of the third quarter, but with all that being said, they never got too low and they didn’t get too high either,” Lowry said. “They were level throughout and did the things that I was asked them to do.”

Louisburg will try for its second straight win Friday when it travels to De Soto. Varsity is set to tipoff at approximately 6 p.m.

LOU               19           16           15           14 – 64

FRON            13           13           10           20 – 56

LOUISBURG (4-4): Bailey Belcher 14, Isabelle Holtzen 13, Carson Buffington 12, Carlee Gassman 12, Haley Cain 6, Alyse Moore 4, Madilyn Melton 3. Totals: 25-70 9-21 64. 3-point field goals: 5, (Buffington 2, Belcher, Gassman, Melton).

Louisburg senior Bailey Belcher drives around a Baldwin player to the basket during Thursday home game against Baldwin. The Lady Cats fell to Baldwin, 72-42. Baldwin is currently ranked No. 1 in Class 4A-Division II. 

In its first game back from the holiday break, Louisburg girls basketball coach Shawn Lowry figured his team would have a little rust.

It certainly didn’t help that the Lady Cats had to go up against the No. 1 team in Class 4A-Division II.

Louisburg hosted Baldwin on Thursday and the Bulldogs put up a performance worthy of their ranking as they handed Louisburg 72-42 loss.

“They are obviously a very good basketball team, and well-deserving of their ranking,” Lowry said of Baldwin. “At the same time, we have to do more. We can do more and we are capable of that. We talked to the girls about what a great opportunity and challenge this was going to be for us. We also talked about playing through adversity against the No. 1 team in Division II. We are on a journey, and this is part of a process, and we are going to get better from this.”

The two teams were in a close game midway through the first quarter before Baldwin went on an 11-1 run to take a 25-12 lead going into the second quarter. The Bulldogs employed a full-court press against Louisburg and didn’t allow the Lady Cats to get in a rhythm.

Baldwin eventually took a 49-22 lead at halftime, but Louisburg didn’t back down and made a little run in the second half. The Lady Cats opened the third quarter on an 8-0 run to cut the lead down to 19, but couldn’t get any closer.

“The start of the third quarter is one of the most important parts of the game,” Lowry said. “I think the girls took to heart about what I said at halftime. I love seeing that from the girls, but at the same time, as the game went on we just got wore down and it is what it is.”

Although the Lady Cats fell short, Lowry liked the effort he saw from his players. Senior Isabelle Holtzen and Madilyn Melton each finished with a team-high 11 points and senior Bailey Belcher added seven points and five rebounds.

Junior forward Carson Buffington also recorded six points and a team-high seven rebounds in the loss.

“It was the first game after break, so that added a little more difficulty to it,” Lowry said. “Some of the individual effort was really good and I was extremely proud of some individuals. Collectively, though, we have to do more. I thought Isabelle, Carson, Bailey and Haley (Cain) gave every ounce they had. They never quit. Even with a minute left in the game, you saw players like Isabelle dive on the floor for loose balls and I was really glad to see that.”

Louisburg freshman Madilyn Melton battles Baldwin’s Reilly Stewart for position Thursday in Louisburg. Melton tied for a team-high 11 points.

Junior Kayla Kurtz led Baldwin in scoring with 20 points and senior Abby Ogle added 16 points in the win. Ogle also scored her 1,000^th career point against Louisburg.

“She has been a really nice player since she was a freshman and it is finally nice now that she is a senior,” Lowry said. “They have a lot of good upperclassmen and (Baldwin coach) Bob (Martin) and his crew and have done a really nice job and have for many years.”

Louisburg will try and get back on track Tuesday when it travels to Frontenac. The Lady Cats will also hit the road later in the week when they go to De Soto on Friday.

LOU               12           10           17           3 – 42

BAL                25           24           18           5 – 72

LOUISBURG (3-4): Isabelle Holtzen 11, Madilyn Melton 11, Bailey Belcher 7, Carson Buffington 6, Megan Foote 4, Haley Cain 2, Alyse Moore 1. Totals: 13-43 11-17 42. 3-point field goals: 5, (Melton 2, Belcher, Buffington, Holtzen).

Having the opportunity to cover Louisburg High School athletics, for what has been almost 10 years now, I have seen a lot of different highs and lows.

I have been lucky enough to cover state championship teams and watched several athletes perform at the highest level. However, this last year has to be one for the record books when it comes to success at Louisburg High School.

For Wildcat athletics, 2017 was a banner year for many reasons.

Louisburg qualified for the state tournament in three different sports – volleyball, girls soccer and boys basketball – and the first two each placed in the top four.

The volleyball team was just a point away from winning the school’s first state title after the Lady Cats finished second to defending state champion Rose Hill, and tied for the best finish in school history.

The Wildcat girls soccer team qualified for the state semifinals in just its second year of existence and suffered a heartbreaking 1-0 loss in the semifinals to eventually take fourth overall.

In boys basketball, the Wildcats qualified for the state tournament for the first time in 12 years despite getting knocked out in the first round by defending state champion Bishop Miege.

Most schools would love to have that success with their athletic programs, but for Louisburg, that was just the tip of the iceberg. As special as the seasons were for those three programs, the Wildcats also thrived in a few other sports.

Louisburg’s cross country program, which has been around for 19 years, had the best season in its history – by far. Not only did the Wildcats have three state medalists for the first time ever, but it had a year that featured the school’s first female league champion in Trinity Moore and the best league finish by a male, Wyatt Reece, who took second.

Tim Smith continued the Wildcat success as he became the school’s first regional cross country champion, and Moore, Reece and Smith each went on to win a state medal. Moore and Smith also set school records for the fastest time.

The Wildcats also qualified the girls team for the first time in school history as Moore, Carlee Gassman, Reilly Alexander, Isabelle Holtzen, Kaitlyn Lewer, Payton Shaffer and Emily Williams took third at regionals and eventually 10th at state.

The Wildcat wrestling team tied a program best by qualifying eight for the state tournament and came back with a medal by Ryan Adams, who finished sixth.

Louisburg’s track and field team persevered and qualified for state in 10 events and had two regional champions in Quinn Rigney and Chris Williams. Isabelle Holtzen and T.J. Dover each brought home their first state track medals.

The boys soccer team was one goal away from making its second consecutive trip to the state semifinals, but their run was halted by a loss to McPherson in state quarterfinals. Still, the Wildcats won a regional title, which was the seventh in team history.

Freshman Calvin Dillon led the Wildcat golf team this past year and recorded the program’s first state medal in more than decade as he took 10th overall.

All these things and more I described in detail when releasing my top 10 stories of the year and what a year it was.

Obviously, I haven’t had a chance to look through all the results, but I can’t imagine a more successful year for LHS when you are talking about athletics. There may have been years in the 70s, 80s and 90s that I don’t know about, but I find it hard to imagine one that tops 2017.

Sure, the 2010-11 school year featured two state championship teams in football and boys track and field and that was a fantastic time to be Wildcat, but as far as calendar years go, 2017 was one to remember.

Even outside the sports world, Louisburg High School put together many great accomplishments as the Wildcat Marching Band was selected to participate in the Tournament of Roses Parade and put on a great show for the nation on New Year’s Day.

Then in October, the FFA Food Science team of Hallie Hutsell, Faith Seuferling, Addie Katzer and Hattie Harris won a national championship, while Hutsell and Seuferling placed second and third in the nation, respectively.

I don’t get a lot of opportunities to cover programs or groups outside the sports world, but these are fantastic accomplishments and deserved to be recognized.

For me, 2017 was a whirlwind. It seemed around every corner, school history was being made and there aren’t many schools around the state that can boast about the successes Louisburg has experienced.

It was an honor for me to cover many of these historic runs in Wildcat history and I hope you all realize how lucky you have it. Louisburg is a school filled with great coaches who care about the student athletes.

Believe me, I know how fortunate I am to be able to be a part of something special and this place is it. If 2018 is half of what 2017 was, it will be a fun ride.

I can’t wait for what 2018 has in store and hopefully you all will follow along to see what these Wildcats can accomplish.

Senior Mikayla Quinn goes up for two of her nine points Tuesday during Louisburg’s home contest against Ottawa. The Lady Cats rolled to a 64-37 victory to even their record at 3-3 on the year.

The Louisburg High School girls basketball team got it exactly what it needed before taking some time off during the holiday break – a victory.

After losing in overtime last week to Eudora, the Lady Cats rebounded in a big way as they controlled Ottawa from the opening tip Tuesday and never looked back in a 64-37 win at Louisburg High School.

The victory evened the Lady Cats’ record at 3-3 and was important as they wrap up the first part of their season.

“After letting one slip away from us against Eudora, we had a week to prepare and the girls worked hard to get ready for this,” Louisburg coach Shawn Lowry said. “It was at home, and our last game before break and it is always tough with it being finals week. The girls were really focused though, and they were really focused in practice and I thought it carried over into the game.”

Focus certainly wasn’t a problem for Louisburg as it dominated almost every aspect of the game and it started on the defensive end. Louisburg forced 23 Ottawa turnovers, a lot of which turned into transition points and easy baskets on the other end.

The Lady Cat offense took a big step forward Tuesday as it bounced back from just scoring 37 points in a loss against Eudora.

“It just shows that we can get out and run the floor,” Lowry said. “We have some things that we want to work on over break with that, but we were good offensively. It was a good collective effort from everyone and I thought it was good to get the win.

“Defensively, I still see some breakdown stuff, but we are working hard and the effort is good because we care about being good for each other. We still need to clean up some stuff on the defensive end, but I like our effort and how hard the girls are playing.”

Louisburg got a nice boost off the bench from Madilyn Melton. The freshman forward scored a team-high 14 points, including three 3-pointers and had six rebounds. Senior Bailey Belcher also finished in double figures with 12.

Sophomore Haley Cain puts up a shot over two Ottawa defenders Tuesday.

Seniors Isabelle Holtzen and Mikayla Quinn each added nine points in the win and junior Carson Buffington just missed out on a double-double with eight points and 11 rebounds.

The outcome of the game never seemed in doubt as the Lady Cats opened the game on a 16-6 run, and after an evenly-played second quarter, led 31-21 at halftime.

Ottawa would get no closer as Louisburg put the game away in the third quarter as the Lady Cats outscored the Cyclones 17-4 in the frame and never looked back.

The big lead allowed Lowry to play young bench players at several different points throughout the contest.

“That is what you hope for as a program is that you can get girls experience that are on the sophomore and freshman levels,” Lowry said. “I talk to them all the time in practice about making sure they are doing the things to put themselves in position when it is their time to be on the floor. They have taken it to heart. Those young players are going to make those young player mistakes, but their effort is really good and they are starting to figure out that toughness piece.”

Louisburg will open the 2018 part of the schedule on Jan. 4 when it hosts Baldwin at 6 p.m. The Bulldogs are currently the No. 1-ranked team in Class 4A-Division II.

LOU               16           15           17           16 – 64

OTT               6             15           4             13 – 37

LOUISBURG (3-3): Madilyn Melton 14, Bailey Belcher 12, Isabelle Holtzen 9, Mikayla Quinn 9, Carson Buffington 8, Haley Cain 4, Carlee Gassman 4, Alyse Moore 3, Reilly Ratliff-Becher 1. Totals: 17 12-24 64. 3-point field goals: 6, (Melton 3, Buffington, Holtzen, Quinn)

Louisburg guard Carlee Gassman dribbles into the lane Tuesday during the Lady Cats’ contest against Eudora in their Frontier League opener at Eudora High School.

EUDORA – Following its league opener, the Louisburg girls basketball team walked off the floor at Eudora High School knowing it let a victory slip through its fingers.

The Lady Cats had a lead late, went into overtime, but came up short in a 46-37 loss to Eudora, in a game that was plagued by foul trouble and turnovers. It was a combination they weren’t able to overcome.

As disappointing as the loss was for the Lady Cats, they plan to use this setback as a positive moving forward in what is a long season ahead.

“They care and they want to do the right things,” Louisburg coach Shawn Lowry said. “Their effort continues to be good, but there is a lot of things that we have to clean up. There are a lot of things we have to get better at, and collectively our mental toughness has to get better.

“It was very soft in many aspects, whether it was our passing, our cuts, catching the ball or our play around the rim. There was a lot of soft play for us and we will fix that.”

Louisburg was able to get up and down the floor in the first quarter and those transition points helped the Lady Cats jump out to a 13-8 lead. Their offense slowed down a little bit in the second quarter, but still took a 19-14 halftime advantage.

Foul trouble and turnovers caught up with the Lady Cats in the third quarter as starting point guard Carlee Gassman and forward Carson Buffington each picked up their fourth foul and had to sit for several minutes. Louisburg also committed seven turnovers in the period, which took the Lady Cats out of what they wanted to do offensively.

Eudora was able to use its zone defense to keep Louisburg out of the middle and limit its scoring chances as the Cardinals outscored Louisburg 15-7 in the third.

“We like to attack the rim, but if you push the ball in the open court then they can’t set their zone up,” Lowry said. “We didn’t do a very good job of pushing the ball or running the floor. Once they got set in their zone, it was a challenge for us to get into some things and our passing just wasn’t very good.”

The Lady Cats (2-3) were able to tie the game early in the fourth on baskets from Haley Cain and Gassman, and then took a 34-32 advantage on a bucket from Buffington with four minutes left.

Senior guard Isabellle Holtzen grabs a rebound Tuesday at Eudora.

Eudora scored the next two to go back on top before Gassman tied the game on an assist from Cain with a minute left. Both teams had a chance to take the lead at the end of regulation, but their attempts fell short.

In the overtime, the Cardinals scored six straight points, while starters Gassman and Isabelle Holtzen fouled out, leaving the Lady Cats short-handed.

Cain led the Lady Cats as she finished with 12 points, six rebounds and three steals. Holtzen also scored in double figures with 10 points to go along with three steals.

Buffington led the Lady Cats with 11 rebounds and freshman Madilyn Melton recorded seven. Senior Bailey Belcher led Louisburg’s defense with four steals.

Louisburg will try and get back on the winning track Tuesday in its final game before the holiday break. The Lady Cats will host Ottawa at 6 p.m.

“We are going to be ready to play,” Lowry said. “We have a week off and it is not easy having a week of practice from a loss to our next game, especially since this is our last game before break. We are going to work really hard to get some of this stuff fixed.”

LOU               13           6             7             10           1 – 37

EUD               8             6             15           7             10 – 46

LOUISBURG (2-3): Haley Cain 12, Isabelle Holtzen 10, Bailey Belcher 6, Carlee Gassman 6, Carson Buffington 2, Madilyn Melton 1. Totals: 16-44 5-12 37. 3-point field goals: none

Louisburg junior Carson Buffington leads a fast break down the floor Friday against Anderson County in the final game of the Wildcat-Bulldog Classic at Baldwin High School. Buffington pulled down a team-high 20 rebounds in the Lady Cats’ 54-32 win.

BALDWIN CITY – The shooting percentage may not be where he wants it yet, the execution wasn’t always there either, but Louisburg girls head coach Shawn Lowry couldn’t help but smile.

His team showed him exactly what he wanted to see.

The Lady Cats’ effort and aggressiveness was in midseason form Friday during the final game of the Wildcat-Bulldog Classic against Anderson County and it showed on the glass. Louisburg pulled down 42 rebounds, including 20 on the offensive end, that led to a 54-32 victory over the Bulldogs at Baldwin High School.

Louisburg finished the tournament with a 1-2 record after it opened with losses to a pair of state-ranked teams in Burlington and Baldwin.

“We knew those two games against Burlington and Baldwin would be challenging and tough games,” Lowry said. “We just wanted to come out against Anderson County and be physical and aggressive. We wanted to set the tone and the girls took that to heart. Our rebounding was really good, but we are still making a lot of mistakes as a young team. At the same time, that is great to do with a win.”

At the heart of those rebounding numbers was Carson Buffington. The Louisburg junior forward pulled down a game-high 20 rebounds to go along with her seven points and four steals.

Buffington was all over the floor for the Lady Cats as she created several second chance opportunities with her nine offensive rebounds.

“No one can coach that and no one can tell her to do that – it is just what she does,” Lowry said. “I have officials that are coming over and talking to me saying ‘That No. 4 (Buffington) is a beast and she is what – like 5-7?’ She plays like she is 6-2. That is someone who hasn’t seen her play before.

“It is crazy, but it is all about want-to. It is nothing other than she wants to rebound more than anyone else and wants to get to that ball more than anyone else. It is special.”

Freshman Alyse Moore battles for a loose ball on the floor Friday against Anderson County.

Buffington’s willingness to rebound has seemed to rub off on the rest of her teammate as the rest of the Lady Cats are constantly fighting for rebounds or loose balls.

Senior guard Bailey Belcher is a prime example as she was next on the team with six rebounds to go along with a team-high 14 points. Point guard Carlee Gassman and freshman forward Alyse Moore each had four rebounds, while Moore finished seven points off the bench and Gassman added four assists.

Isabelle Holtzen, who battled foul trouble in the first half, responded well in the second half as she finished with nine points to go along with a pair of assists and two steals. Sophomore Haley Cain added eight points and three rebounds in the win.

“I am seeing our guards crash the boards more and I thought Holtzen and Belcher really rebounded well,” Lowry said. “Haley is starting to get into her our own rebounding and Alyse Moore comes in off the bench as a freshman and she has some of the same characteristics that Carson had has a freshman about how she sees and reads the ball. It is neat that Alyse, and the rest of the younger girls, get to see Carson play and that will just help them later.”

Louisburg (2-2) struggled offensively early on as Anderson County took an 11-8 lead, but the Lady Cats closed out the first quarter on a 9-0 run to grab a 17-11 advantage.

It was all Louisburg in the second quarter as it outscored Anderson County 17-7. The Lady Cats’ defense also came up big as it held Anderson County to just 10 points in the second and third quarters combined.

“Defensively we did some things that helped us do some things offensively,” Lowry said. “It gave us that attacking mentality. Our shooting percentage is not where we want it to be yet, and we are not doing some things the way we need to, but our effort and toughness is really good. That is probably what I am most proud of right now.

“Our effort never changed and our toughness didn’t change no matter who we were playing in this tournament. The other stuff we can continue to work on, but those are things that I would be really concerned if we weren’t doing that.”

Louisburg will try and make it back-to-back wins Tuesday when it travels to Eudora for its Frontier League opener. Tipoff is set for approximately 6 p.m.

LOU               17           17           7             13 – 54

AC                  11           7             3             11 – 32

LOUISBURG (2-2): Bailey Belcher 14, Isabelle Holtzen 9, Haley Cain 8, Carson Buffington 7, Alyse Moore 7, Madilyn Melton 4, Mikayla Quinn 3, Carlee Gassman 2. Totals: 20 8-13 54. 3-point field goals: 2, (Holtzen, Quinn).

Louisburg junior Haley Cain puts up a shot in the lane Tuesday against Baldwin in the second round of the Wildcat-Bulldog Classic at Baldwin High School. The Lady Cats fell 62-31 to the Bulldogs, who are ranked No. 5 in the state.

BALDWIN CITY – Not even a full week into the season, the Louisburg High School girls basketball team wrapped up what might be its toughest two games of the year.

After getting a season opening victory Friday against Pittsburg, the Lady Cats opened the Wildcat-Bulldog Classic with back-to-back games against a pair of state-ranked opponents.

On Monday, Louisburg faced off with Burlington, which is the No. 4 team in Class 4A-DII and then had to meet Baldwin, the No. 5 squad in 4A-DII, the following day.

For a team with just one returning starter from a year ago, it was a tall task for the Lady Cats as they fell to Burlington, 76-46, and then lost to Baldwin, 62-31, on Tuesday. Despite the setbacks, Louisburg coach Shawn Lowry believes his team can learn from this experience.

“I think it’s very beneficial for our young team to play some of these top caliber teams early in the season as we are learning and growing,” Lowry said “It provides a great platform to develop the type of toughness we want to play with. I am confident this group of girls with continue to improve throughout the season as they gain experience and confidence.”

Against Burlington, the Lady Cats got a big game from their two team captains. Junior Carson Buffington recorded her second straight double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds, to go along with four steals.

Senior Isabelle Holtzen also scored in double figures with 10 points to go along with seven assists and six rebounds. Freshman Madilyn Melton scored nine points and had five rebounds, while senior Bailey Belcher pulled down six boards.

Despite that, the Lady Cats just couldn’t slow down Burlington as it scored 45 first half points on its way to a 45-21 halftime advantage.

It was the same type of start Tuesday against Baldwin. The Bulldogs used pressure defense and 3-point shooting to take a 36-17 lead at halftime. Baldwin hit 10 3-pointers on the night to pull away from the Lady Cats.

“Burlington and Baldwin are very good teams that are well deserving of their current state rankings,” Lowry said. “Both teams returned some very talented players from last year and are well coached. We expected these to be very competitive games and I was proud of how our girls responded.”

Holtzen and Buffington once again led the Lady Cats on both ends of the floor. Holtzen responded with a team-high 11 points, while Buffington added nine points and a team-high 18 rebounds.

Sophomore Haley Cain was also a factor on the glass for Louisburg as she was second on the team with 10 rebounds.

“Through these first few games, Carson and Isabelle have been great leaders and unselfish in their play,” Lowry said. “Haley, Bailey and Carlee (Gassman) have and continue to gain valuable experience and are getting more confident with each outing. We have some younger players that are beginning to see they can compete at this level and how they can contribute to the team’s success”

Louisburg will try and end the Wildcat-Bulldog Classic with a win Friday when it travels back to Baldwin for a matchup with Anderson County. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.

LOU               7             14           15           10 – 46

BUR               22           23           15           16 – 76

LOUISBURG (1-2): Carson Buffington 16, Isabelle Holtzen 10, Madilyn Melton 9, Carlee Gassman 5, Haley Cain 3, Bailey Belcher 2, Alyse Moore 1. Totals: 15-52 7-16 46. 3-point field goals: 3, (Buffington 2, Gassman)

LOU               8             9             8             6 – 31

BAL                22           14           14           12 – 62

LOUISBURG: Isabelle Holtzen 11, Carson Buffington 9, Bailey Belcher 5, Haley Cain 4. Totals: 10-45 7-18 31. 3-point field goals: 4, (Holtzen 2, Buffington, Belcher)