Junior Konnor Vohs puts up a shot during Louisburg’s tournament opener against Bishop Ward on Tuesday in Baldwin City.

BALDWIN CITY – The Louisburg boys
basketball team couldn’t have asked for a better start to the Baldwin
Invitational on Tuesday and the Wildcats put themselves in position to make a
run at the tournament title.

Louisburg, the No. 4 seed, opened
play against No. 5 Bishop Ward at Baldwin High School and the Wildcats left no
doubt in this one. Louisburg held Bishop Ward to nine first half points and
cruised to a 63-25 win over the Cyclones.

The win pushes the Wildcats’
record to 4-4 on the season as they advance to the tournament semifinals.

“Our focus was to play a complete
game,” Louisburg coach Ty Pfannenstiel said. “We’ve played well in stretches,
but we’ve yet to be consistent for four quarters. I thought this was our first
game we were good on both sides of the ball for four quarters. Hopefully we can
build on that.”

The Wildcats started on the defensive end as they held Bishop Ward without point until 15 seconds left in the first quarter. They kept it going throughout the contest and the offense followed suit.

Louisburg took a 16-3 lead at the
end of the first quarter and then went on an 18-6 run in the second to go up
34-9 at halftime. The Wildcats added 23 more points in the third quarter and
all but sealed the win.

Sophomore Julian Margrave proved
to be a mismatch for Ward, especially inside, as he scored a game-high 17
points – 15 of which came in the first half – and was 8-for-11 from the field.
He also added a team-high eight rebounds.

“Julian had a nice game,” Pfannenstiel said. “He was aggressive
offensively and made some big plays. He can really get hot offensively, so hopefully
he can keep playing well.”

Everyone got involved in the
scoring as Pfannenstiel emptied his bench in the fourth quarter and all 12
players scored for the Wildcats.

Senior Michael Waldron was next
with nine points, while senior Garrett Rolofson had seven points, four steals
and three blocks. Junior point guard Weston Guetterman had a team-high seven
deflections to go along with five steals and four assists.

“It was good to get everyone a
good stretch of minutes of varsity action,” Pfannenstiel said. “Our kids
practice hard and compete for minutes every day in practice, so it was good to
see them all get an opportunity to play.”

The competition will get a lot
harder Friday when the Wildcats square off with the tournament’s No. 1 seed,
Harmon. Harmon is currently ranked No. 3 in Class 6A and beat Wellsville,
65-29. Tipoff is set for 8:30 p.m.

“Harmon is really
athletic and they are a deep team that returns almost everybody from last year,”
Pfannenstiel said. “They are the only remaining undefeated 6A team on the east
side of the state so we are going to have to be locked in and ready from start
to finish. Our kids are excited for the opportunity.”

LOU               16           18           23           6 – 63

BW                3             6             10           6 – 25

LOUISBURG (4-4): Julian Margrave
8-11 1-1 17; Michael Waldron 4-6 0-0 9; Garrett Rolofson 2-5 3-3 7; Ben
Guetterman 2-4 1-2 6; Michael Seuferling 2-5 0-0 4; Konnor Vohs 2-4 0-0 4;
Maverick Rockers 2-4 0-0 4; Charlie Peters 1-3 2-2 4; Dawson Barnes 1-2 0-0 3;
Weston Guetterman 1-3 0-0 2; Connor Koesser 1-3 0-0 2; Andy Hupp 0-2 1-3 1.
Totals: 26-52 8-11 63. 3-point field goals: 3, (B. Guetterman, Waldron, Barnes)

Junior Megan Foote goes up for a shot during a game earlier this season. The Louisburg girls fell short at home Saturday against Frontenac, 50-45.

The Louisburg and Frontenac girls
basketball teams came into Saturday’s game wanting to do the same thing – put pressure
on the opponent.

It worked on both ends as the two
teams combined to force more than 50 turnovers in what was a chaotic contest at
Louisburg High School. In the end, Frontenac made just a few more plays.

Despite a late run in the fourth
quarter, Louisburg came up short in a 50-45 loss to the Raiders and it is just
the second setback for the Lady Cats this season.

Louisburg (5-2) jumped out in
front to start the game as it took a 16-11 lead to begin the second quarter.
Unfortunately, the Lady Cats had problems scoring against the Frontenac defense
in the next two frames.

Frontenac held Louisburg to a
combined 12 points in the second and third quarters and took a 42-28 lead. The
Lady Cats didn’t give up as they scored 17 points in the fourth quarter.

Junior Madilyn Melton scored the first four points, junior Megan Foote made a 3-pointer late and junior Alyse Moore scored nine points down the stretch. Moore drove the lane, scored and was fouled to cut the Frontenac lead to two with just seconds left.

Louisburg, however, could get no
closer as Frontenac converted at the free-throw line in the final seconds to
secure the win.

Moore led the Lady Cats as she
recorded a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds to go along with a
team-high three steals. Melton also finished with a double-double as she had 13
points, 10 rebounds and three steals.

Junior Brooklyn Diederich was in double figures with 10 points and a team-high eight deflections. Senior Haley Cain added eight rebounds in the loss.

Louisburg will try and get back on
track tonight when it travels to Spring Hill for Frontier League matchup.
Tipoff is set for approximately 7:30 p.m.

LOU               16           5             7             17 – 45

FRON            11           13           18           8 – 50

LOUISBURG (5-2): Alyse Moore 6-14
4-7 16; Madilyn Melton 5-7 3-4 13; Brooklyn Diederich 4-16 0-0 10; Megan Foote
1-6 1-4 4; Delaney Wright 1-6 0-0 2. Totals: 17-58 8-17 45. 3-point field
goals: 3, (Diederich 2, Foote)

Louisburg’s Weston Guetterman drives to the basket during a game earlier this season. The Wildcats lost a close game to Frontenac on Saturday, 59-57.

With less than eight minutes left
in the game, the Louisburg boys basketball team was well on its way to a third
straight victory – that was until Frontenac decided to make one final run of
its own.

Frontenac scored 11 straight
points to take the lead, and after Louisburg’s Ben Guetterman tied it up on a
3-pointer with 10 seconds left, the Raiders’ Hayden Pile scored the game-winner
with two seconds remaining and the Wildcats fell in a 59-57 heartbreaker
Saturday in Louisburg.

It was a back-and-forth affair as the two teams each made runs at each other, but the Raiders were able to deliver the final blow.

“Frontenac is a good team,” Louisburg coach Ty Pfannenstiel said. “They are long at every position, so we knew it would be tough inside.  Offensively we were good for 3 quarters, but we were really bad for the first 6 mins of the 4th which ended up being the difference in the game.

“I thought we executed really well the last two minutes and made some big plays to give us a chance.  Ben’s 3-point shot to tie it up was the biggest shot of the year for us so far. It’s too bad we couldn’t get a stop and play it out in overtime.”

Frontenac struck first as the Raiders took a 16-11 lead after the first quarter, but the Wildcats were able to find a groove offensively in the second and third quarters.

Louisburg (3-4) scored 21 points
in the second quarter and used a 13-4 run to end the first half to take a 32-29
halftime advantage. Michael Waldron and Ben Guetterman hit back-to-back
3-pointers, and a Weston Guetterman layup cut the Frontenac lead to two.

Ben Guetterman hit his second of
four 3-pointers on the night, while Julian Margrave knocked down a basket to
give the Wildcats the halftime advantage. Waldron and Ben Guetterman knocked
down two more 3-pointers in the third quarter to give the Wildcats a six-point
lead late.

Louisburg held a 48-40 lead early in the fourth quarter, but Frontenac went on an 11-0 run to go up 51-48. Louisburg cut the deficit to 57-54 after a pair of Weston Guetterman free throws with 26 seconds left.

After Frontenac missed two free
throws, the Wildcats had a chance to tie the game and Ben Guetterman came
through as he knocked down a 3-pointer with 10 seconds remaining.

Frontenac called timeout, and then drove the ball down the floor where the Raiders found Pile under the basket for game-winner with two seconds left.

“I thought we played well,” Pfannenstiel said. “It really was a back and forth game all night. We built a little lead there in the third and early fourth, but couldn’t hang on. We’ve got to find ways to stay out of droughts. That hurt us against Bonner and hurt us again. 

“It was tough on our kids, but we have to learn from it and move on. We always stress how important every possession is, no matter if it’s in the first, second, third, or fourth quarter. They all add up to the end total and we were one short time time.”

Margrave led all scorers with a
game-high 17 points and led Louisburg with eight rebounds. Ben Guetterman added
14 points in the loss, while Weston Guetterman added 10 to go along with six
rebounds. Waldron added eight points and a team-high four steals.

The Wildcats shot 39 percent for
the game, including seven 3-pointers. They were also 10-for-10 from the
free-throw line.

Louisburg will try and get back on
track today when it travels to the Baldwin Invitational Tournament and will
face off with Bishop Ward in the first round. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m.

LOU               11           21           14           11 – 57

FRON            16           13           11           19 – 59

LOUISBURG (3-4): Julian Margrave
7-15 2-2 17; Ben Guetterman 5-10 0-0 14; Weston Guetterman 3-12 4-4 10; Michael
Waldron 3-7 0-0 8; Garrett Rolofson 2-6 2-2 6; Konnor Vohs 0-1 2-2 2. Totals:
20-52 10-10 57. 3-point field goals: 7, (B. Guetterman 4, Waldron 2, Margrave)

Louisburg senior Michael Waldron drives to the basket against the Bonner Springs defense Tuesday at Louisburg High School.

For more than half of the game,
the Louisburg boys basketball team found itself in the driver’s seat Tuesday
against Bonner Springs.

The Wildcats had a comfortable
lead and were well on their way to back-to-back wins to start 2020. In the end,
it became a little more interesting than they would have liked.

Bonner Springs cut a 16-point Louisburg
lead to just one point with under a minute left, but senior Garrett Rolofson
knocked down two free throws with nine seconds left help secure a 46-43 win for
the Wildcats at Louisburg High School.

“It is never going to be easy,” Louisburg coach Ty Pfannenstiel said. “At times we looked really, really good and we were really focused – playing free and playing our style of basketball. Whatever it was in the second half, we just went into an offensive funk, started turning the ball over and just got real sloppy. We made it to where we were in a game again.

“Defensively, I thought we were
good all night and I thought it was one of our best games on defense,
especially in the first half. We stress that our defense has to be a constant
every night. When shots aren’t falling, and your defense is good, then you have
a chance. If we can consistently play defense then I think we are going to be
alright.”

Louisburg (3-3) went on an 11-4 run in the second quarter to build a 31-15 lead over Bonner Springs and was up 12 points at halftime. The Wildcats maintained that advantage going into the fourth quarter, but the Braves chipped away at the Louisburg lead while the Wildcats went cold offensively.

The Wildcats had several shots rim
out, while Bonner Springs used a 10-2 run to eventually cut the Louisburg lead
to 44-43 with 46 seconds left. After both teams missed front ends of a
one-in-one opportunity, Rolofson was fouled with nine seconds left and had an
opportunity to give Louisburg a little cushion.

The Louisburg senior calmly made
both opportunities and the Braves couldn’t find the bottom of the net in their
final trip down the floor.

“Nothing was really going in for
us,” Pfannenstiel said. “I think we had a layup and three free throws in the fourth
quarter and two of those were Rolo’s there at the end. We went in a huge
drought, and when you don’t see the ball go through the hoop, it can get kind
of nerve-racking.

“Rolo is a kid that has worked
really hard and he has earned his opportunity to take those shots. I couldn’t
think of anyone that I would rather have shooting those shots. I have supreme
confidence in what he has done and that was big for him to step up and knock
those down.”

Weston Guetterman led the Wildcats
with a team-high 13 points and three steals as he played all 32 minutes. Ben
Guetterman also scored in double figures with 12, while Julian Margrave had
seven points and a team-high nine rebounds.

The Wildcats did a lot of their scoring from behind the arc as they knocked down seven 3-pointers on the night, despite shooting just 36 percent from the field. Still, Louisburg played well offensively in the first half, which forced Bonner Springs to do some different things on defense.

“We moved the ball well, took care
of the ball and got them out of their zone,” Pfannenstiel said. “We were expecting
to see some zone going into the game, and it is something we haven’t seen a lot
of this year. We were hot enough that we were able to get them out of it and I
was very pleased with how we played in the first half. But we have to be able
to play well for four quarters if we are going to have a chance the rest of the
way. Our goal is to continue to build and that is what we are doing.”

Louisburg will try for its third
straight win Saturday when it hosts Frontenac in a make-up game from earlier in
the season. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.

LOU               15           18           8             5 – 46

BON              11           10           8             14 – 43

LOUISBURG (3-3): Weston Guetterman
3-6 5-10 13; Ben Guetterman 5-13 0-1 12; Julian Margrave 3-6 0-0 7; Michael
Waldron 2-10 0-0 6; Garrett Rolofson 1-4 2-3 4; Maverick Rockers 1-2 0-0 2;
Connor Koesser 1-3 0-0 2. Totals: 16-45 7-14 46. 3-point field goals: 7, (W.
Guetterman 2, B. Guetterman 2, Waldron 2, Margrave)

Junior Madilyn Melton drives past a Bonner Springs defender Tuesday during the Lady Cats’ 52-34 win over the Braves.

From the opening tip, it was
obvious that the night was going to belong to the Louisburg girls basketball
team.

On Tuesday against Bonner Springs,
the Lady Cats scored 14 of the first 16 points and used that start to roll the
Braves, 52-34, at Louisburg High School.

In what was one of their best shooting nights of the young season, mixed in with good defense, the No. 10-ranked Lady Cats were able to move their record to 5-1 on the season.

“Bonner is young, athletic and
their coach does a really good job with his girls, but I am also proud of the
way we responded against that,” Louisburg coach Shawn Lowry said. “There were
times where it was really physical and I thought that we responded well to that
and I thought our confidence was good too. At some point, this group is going
to have to start believing what they can be this year.”

The Lady Cats certainly believed Tuesday
as they shot 44 percent from floor and knocked down a season-high eight
3-pointers, despite only going 4-for-14 from the free-throw line. Louisburg
came out strong as it opened the game on a 14-2 run.

Bonner Springs made a run back to
cut it to a two-point advantage to start the second quarter, but the Lady Cats
ended the first half on an 8-2 spurt to take a 25-17 halftime lead. The Braves
would get no closer.

Madilyn Melton led the Lady Cats
in scoring as the Louisburg junior finished with a team-high 12 points and
seven rebounds, to go along with six deflections and three steals. Juniors
Alyse Moore and Megan Foote added nine points in the win.

Senior Haley Cain came off the
bench to also score nine points, all of which came from behind the 3-point
line. Cain also had a team-high four assists.

“I think it is credit to the girls putting in the work,” Lowry said of his team’s offensive success. “They are staying after practice and coming in on the weekends on their own and shooting. This is a group that can be a good shooting team.

“I really thought Haley came off
the bench and gave us a nice spark and it was great leadership from her. I am
really proud of what she did.”

Louisburg also shined defensively
at times as it shut down Bonner Springs’ inside game and forced 26 turnovers
thanks to the Lady Cats’ aggressive zone defense. Those turnovers turned into
25 points for the Lady Cats as they made it difficult for the Braves.

“We didn’t slow them down much
inside at the beginning, but we made some adjustments and that really helped,”
Lowry said. “I have to give credit to the girls because they responded to the
adjustments what we needed to make. They were communicating with each other and
talking on defense. That really was the difference. I made some adjustments,
but it was them talking that was the biggest part of that.”

The schedule will get a lot
tougher for the Lady Cats beginning tomorrow. It will be a battle of ranked
teams as No. 10 Louisburg hosts No. 4 Baldwin (7-1) at 6 p.m. Friday in a
Frontier League matchup.

Louisburg will then turnaround
Saturday to host Frontenac in a makeup contest. Tipoff for that game is set for
4:30 p.m.

“We want to be 6-1 after Friday
and we have to play a good Baldwin team on our home floor,” Lowry said. “We are
excited to play that game and that is the mentality that this group has right
now.

“Baldwin is a fantastic team from
coaching to players, and top to bottom they have such a great program. It is
going to be extremely hard and we are going to have to prepare with that in
mind. We can’t even think about Saturday’s game against Frontenac and we have
to be all in with Baldwin on Friday.”

LOU               17           8             19           8 – 52

BON              12           5             12           5 – 34

LOUISBURG (5-1): Madilyn Melton
5-8 2-6 12; Haley Cain 3-7 0-0 9; Alyse Moore 3-7 1-2 9; Megan Foote 4-7 0-2 9;
Delaney Wright 2-4 0-2 5; Brooklyn Diederich 2-10 0-0 5; Sydni Keagle 1-1 0-0
2; Jordan Mynsted 0-0 1-2 1. Totals: 20-46 4-14 52. 3-point field goals: 8,
(Cain 3, Moore 2, Wright, Diederich, Foote)

Freshman guard Adyson Ross drives to the basket during the Lady Cats’ road game Tuesday against Turner.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. – In its first
game of the new year, the Louisburg girls basketball team couldn’t have asked
for a better start to 2020.

The Lady Cats used a stingy
defense and a deep bench to help them to a 72-18 victory over Turner on Tuesday
at Turner High School. The win moves Louisburg’s record to 4-1 on the year as
it currently holds the No. 10 ranking in Class 4A.

“We worked hard over break and
everyone is in the same boat,” Louisburg coach Shawn Lowry said. “You have to
get back to where you were before break and it is crazy. You have to get that
mentality back and we focused on toughness drills, worked on a lot of defensive
stuff and I thought we took care of business. Offensively we have some stuff to
clean up, but overall it was a good night.”

Defensively, the Lady Cats shined
as they used their 1-3-1 pressure defense to force several Turner turnovers,
which led to easy baskets in transition. Louisburg racked up 47 points in the first
half and held the Golden Bears to just nine.

Junior Brooklyn Diederich had a
big scoring night for the Lady Cats with a game-high 15 points, including three
3-pointers. Juniors Alyse Moore and Madilyn Melton also finished in double
figures with 12 points and sophomores Delaney Wright and Jordan Mynsted added
nine.

Lowry shuffled five players in and
out of the game at different times throughout the contest, which allowed
several younger players to see varsity minutes. Freshman guards Brianne
Kuhlman, Adyson Ross and Emma Lohse all saw playing time and each found the
scoring column.

“It was nice to be able to rotate
a lot of kids,” Lowry said. “I thought the freshmen, like Adyson, Brianne and
Emma, all did a real nice job tonight. It is these kinds of situations where we
can get them some experience that will help them down the road past this
season. For it being our first game out of break, and being on the road, I
think it was good for us.”

The schedule will get quite a bit
tougher for the Lady Cats and it starts tonight when they travel to No. 7
Eudora. The Cardinals have been going through some transition as their head
coach, Richard Ebel, was relieved of his duties before the holiday break and
they currently have a new coaching staff.

Despite the changes, the Lady Cats
know it will be a difficult challenge on the road in Frontier League play.

“Eudora is fantastic and they have
one of the best point guards around,” Lowry said. “They are dealing with some
stuff right now, but I think they are going to be ready to play. It will be
tough for them, but I know they will be ready.

“We have a tough four-game stretch
coming up too. We have Eudora, but then we get three games at home, with Bonner
Springs, Baldwin and Frontenac and Baldwin and Frontenac are back-to-back
nights. It is a gauntlet, but that is the time of year we are in and it is time
to play. We have 80 percent of our games left to play and 60 percent of our
practices are done. It is about improving and getting better and we are going
to be a different team between now and the end of the season. We have a lot of
growth left to happen.”

LOU               20           27           15           10 – 72

TUR               5             4             4             5 – 18

LOUISBURG (4-1): Brooklyn
Diederich 15, Alyse Moore 12, Madilyn Melton 12, Delaney Wright 9, Jordan
Mynsted 9, Brianne Kuhlman 6, Adyson Ross 5, Megan Foote 2, Emma Lohse 2.
Totals: 27 12-22 72. 3-point field goals: 6, (Diederich 3, Wright 2, Ross)

Louisburg senior Garrett Rolofson goes up for a basket during the Wildcats’ 64-52 win Tuesday over Turner. Rolofson finished with 14 points and nine rebounds.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Louisburg
opened Tuesday’s road contest against Turner with 10 straight points, only to
see the Golden Bears respond with a big run of their own and put the Wildcats
in hole.

The Wildcats ended the game just
like they started – only bigger.

Louisburg dominated the fourth
quarter and rallied from an eight-point deficit to get a 64-52 victory over
Turner and win in convincing fashion. The Wildcats outscored the Golden Bears
21-5 in the final frame thanks to a different level of intensity.

“It was a great win for our guys,” Louisburg coach Ty Pfannenstiel said. “We got into a funk there for a while after we had such a hot start. With it being the first game after break, you just never know what you are going to get on our end. It has been awhile since we have played, but for us to battle back was great to see and the energy in the fourth quarter was really, really good.”

A lot of that energy came from junior
Ben Guetterman and senior Garrett Rolofson, who both helped the Wildcats
dominate the glass in the fourth quarter, which led to a lot of second chance
points.

Guetterman, one of the team’s
starting guards, finished with a game-high 21 points and also added 16 rebounds
to help spark the Wildcats. Rolofson nearly had a double-double himself as he
added 14 points and nine boards. Both players had seven offensive rebounds on
the night and kept a lot of plays alive.

“Ben played really well and Rolo
played really tough inside,” Pfannenstiel said. “If those guys can continue
that, and then we can piece it together with the other guys, then we should be
alright.

“Ben is going to realize that he
can really score when he hits the offensive glass and he doesn’t just have to
hit from the outside. He has the ability to attack on the offensive rebounds
and get a lot of garbage points. Rolo did a really good job with that too. Our
energy was really good in the fourth quarter, and if we can do that for four
quarters, then we can do this any night out.”

Louisburg (2-3) was without one of
its leading scorers in Julian Margrave, who was out with an illness. Other
players had to fill in and the Wildcats were able to get good production from
their bench.

Sophomore Michael Seuferling saw
his first varsity action of the season and provided the Wildcats with some key
minutes as he finished with seven points. Junior Konnor Vohs also added six in
the win, including a big 3-pointer in the fourth quarter to help jump start the
Wildcats’ run.

Point guard Weston Guetterman
added six points, but also finished with a team-high seven assists and also had
six rebounds.

“We had a couple guys come off the
bench and really gave us some good minutes there in crunch time,” Pfannenstiel
said. “I thought Michael came in and played really well. We had to have some
guys step up with Julian out, so we needed to have some guys score for us. Vohs,
Seuferling and those guys came in and brought good energy and that is what we
needed.”

The Wildcats opened the game on a
10-0 run, but Turner responded quickly as it went on a 17-2 spurt of its own to
take a five-point lead going into the second quarter.

Turner extended its lead to 10
points midway through the second quarter and later had an eight-point lead in the
third, before the Wildcats started to chip away.

Seuferling hit a jumper to cut the Turner lead to one early in the fourth quarter and then the Wildcat defense forced three straight turnovers. Louisburg took advantage as Ben Guetterman and Rolofson both scored on offensive rebounds to give the Wildcats the lead and then Vohs answered with a 3-pointer to put Louisburg up six.

Louisburg didn’t let up as it pulled away from the Bears the rest of the way and recorded its second win on the season.

“We switched to zone for a little bit
and I think that messed with them for a while,” Pfannenstiel said. “They missed
some shots and we were able to rebound out of it. I think we figured out pretty
quick that we need to get going. We played with some great energy in the
fourth.”

The Wildcats will try for
back-to-back wins Friday when they travel to Eudora in Frontier League action.
Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

“Eudora is always very well
coached,” Pfannenstiel said. “They are a great program and have disciplined
players. It is good to go into league play with a win and we have a lot of games
coming up here. It will be a grind and we have a lot to do. Hopefully we can
continue to build some momentum.”

LOU               12           16           15           21 – 64

TUR               16           15           16           5 – 52

LOUISBURG (2-3): Ben Guetterman 9-17
1-1 21; Garrett Rolofson 5-12 4-6 14; Michael Seuferling 2-5 1-1 7; Weston
Guetterman 1-11 4-6 6; Konnor Vohs 2-3 1-2 6; Michael Waldron 2-4 0-0 5;
Charlie Peters 0-1 3-4 3; Maverick Rockers 1-4 0-0 2. Totals: 22-57 15-23 64.
3-point field goals: 5, (B. Guetterman 2, Seuferling, Vohs, Waldron)

Louisburg senior Michael Waldron stretches out for a rebound Friday during the Wildcats’ home contest against Piper.

For two-and-a-half quarters Friday,
the Louisburg boys basketball team had the upper-hand on the defending state
champion and No. 1 team in Class 4A.

The Wildcats had Piper where they
wanted them, but foul trouble and a few turnovers derailed their upset hopes as
the Wildcats fell to the Pirates, 68-61, in the final game of 2019.

Despite the loss, the fact that
Louisburg was able to hang with the state’s No. 1 team for much of the game was
something the Wildcats hope to use as a momentum builder over the holiday
break.

“It gives our kids confidence,” Louisburg coach Ty Pfannenstiel said. “We played with the defending state champs and the No. 1 team in the state that has played some good teams already. Our kids have to be very confident that we can play with, and beat anybody. That is type of team we will have to play in sub-state and there are some very talented teams at the top. We are going to have to execute a game plan like we did against Piper.”

That game plan was to force the
Pirates to pull up for jumpers and keep them out of transition. Louisburg was
able to do that for the most part as Piper was out of rhythm offensively and
the Wildcats were able to take a halftime lead.

The Wildcats (1-3) extended that
lead to seven points midway through the third quarter and all the momentum was in
their favor.

“We played tough,” Pfannenstiel
said. “Our kids played with such good energy, we created a good environment and
our students were really good. We basically went punch for punch with them, and
defensively, this was our best game of the year by far against a really dynamic
offensive team. They can really handle the ball and they have shooters
everywhere.

“That is a good team that we
played. To make them settle for pull-up jumpers, which was kind of our game
plan, and I thought our kids did a really good job of making them play good
help-side defense, packing the lane and making good close outs. It was a lot of
fun out there.”

The Wildcats got a bulk of their
scoring from three different players as junior point guard Weston Guetterman
finished with a team-high 20 points. Sophomore Julian Margrave finished with a
double-double as he had 16 points and 10 rebounds, while junior Ben Guetterman
added 17 points and seven rebounds.

Louisburg had to play with some
adversity early in the third quarter as Weston Guetterman had to sit with four
fouls, which is around the same time Piper went on a big run to take the lead
back.

Piper went on a 16-4 run to end
the third quarter as the Pirates were able to get out in transition and knock
down a couple three-pointers.

“It was definitely tough not
having him out there because he is that important to our team,” Pfannenstiel
said of Weston. “He is very comfortable with the ball in his hands and does a
good job running the offense. He just needs to be a little smarter when it
comes to being more aggressive. Maverick (Rockers) came in and did a good job
handling the ball against very good defenders. We took care of the ball for the
most part against some pretty talented defenders.

“Weston and Julian have been
pretty consistent with what they have gotten every night so far this year and
we need to find that third scorer and Ben can provide that. (Michael) Waldron
can as well, but I think we all played to our strengths. We don’t need everyone
to go off for 18 necessarily, even though that would be nice, but everyone
knows their role offensively and I thought our kids played very well.”

Piper extended its lead to 12
points midway through the fourth quarter. Weston Guetterman scored five
straight points to cut the lead to seven, but it would be as close as the
Wildcats could get.

The Wildcats will try and bounce
back in the new year when they travel to Turner on Jan. 7.

LOU               13           13           14           21 – 61

PIP                 11           14           24           19 – 68

LOUISBURG (1-3): Weston Guetterman
5-8 8-8 20; Ben Guetterman 5-14 5-9 17; Julian Margrave 7-12 2-3 16; Michael
Waldron 2-6 1-2 6; Garrett Rolofson 1-1 0-0 2. Totals: 20-44 16-22 61. 3-point
field goals: 5, (W. Guetterman 2, B. Guetterman 2, Waldron 1)

Louisburg junior Alyse Moore goes up for a basket Friday during the Lady Cats’ final game of 2019 against Piper at Louisburg High School.

It would have been easy for the
Louisburg girls basketball team to realize Friday was just not its night.

The Lady Cats found themselves
down 10 points in the first three minutes of the game against Piper, the No. 2
team in Class 4A and defending state runner-up. Trying to get back in the game
against one of the best teams in the state was going to be a tough task.

Louisburg was up for the challenge
as the Lady Cats rallied to keep the game close, before Piper used a big fourth
quarter to hand Louisburg its first loss of the season, 47-29, at Louisburg
High School.

Piper opened the game on a 10-0
run to put the Lady Cats on their heels, but they were able to respond and
trailed just 16-10 at the end of the first quarter. From there, Louisburg was
able to stay within striking distance, but would get no closer.

“Two things are going to happen in
that situation – you are either going to stand up for yourself or you are just
going to quit and lay down,” Louisburg coach Shawn Lowry said. “The character
of our team is they are going to fight. We really battled the entire game, but
it is just some things that we are doing to ourselves. If we can clean those
things up, I like what this team can be.”

The Lady Cats struggled on the
offensive end of the floor as they shot 27 percent from the field, but they
hurt themselves on the free-throw line as they went 10-for-24.

It was tough to get good looks at
the basket most of the night against a tough Piper defense that applied
full-court pressure for part of the contest.

“We are not that far away,” Lowry
said. “The things we have been talking to the girls about time after time is
finishing plays at the rim, free-throw shooting and we really hurt ourselves
with those two things. Piper is obviously an extremely talented team, with
extremely talented players.

“The message to our girls was when we got down big early, was to settle down and to compete and they did that. We have a lot of progress left to do, both individually and as a team, but I sure like our kids and I like what the rest of the season can look like for us.”

Junior Megan Foote paced the Lady
Cats with a team-high 12 points, while junior Madilyn Melton finished with
seven points and five rebounds. Junior Alyse Moore pulled down a team-high 11
rebounds and senior Haley Cain also had five boards.

Piper took an 11-point halftime
lead and the Pirates were able to build on it into the fourth quarter as they
used a 9-2 run to pull away from the Lady Cats.

Louisburg, which is 3-1 going into
the holiday break, saw a lot of positives to begin its season. The Lady Cats
also realize they will be competing in several difficult games in the Frontier
League when they resume play in early January.

“We wanted to be 4-0, but we like
where we are at,” Lowry said. “We would have liked to have that other game
before break with the Frontenac game being postponed, but we are going to take
some days off here, regroup and get back after it. This group has high
expectations for themselves and you have to love that.

“This league is fantastic and what a great league to compete in. When we come back from break we will face a very good Eudora team, Baldwin is tough, Paola is strong again this year, Spring Hill is good and I think the league is going to be a race this year. I don’t think that anyone is going to run away with it. Piper is out to a good lead, but I think it will be competitive till the end.”

The Lady Cats will continue their
season on Jan. 7 when they travel to Turner. Louisburg will then go to Eudora
on Jan. 10 to start up league play.

LOU               10           7             9             3 – 29

PIP                 16           12           10           9 – 47

LOUISBURG (3-1): Megan Foote 5-7
0-0 12; Madilyn Melton 1-6 5-12 7; Haley Cain 1-7 1-2 4; Alyse Moore 0-3 3-7 3;
Delaney Wright 1-1 0-0 2; Brianne Kuhlman 0-0 1-2 1. Totals: 8-30 10-24 29.
3-point field goals: 3, (Foote 2, Cain 1)

Louisburg junior Ben Guetterman dribbles around an Anderson County defender Friday during the Wildcats’ home opener.

After a pair of difficult losses
to start the season, the Louisburg boys basketball team wanted to try and make
amends.

There was no better place to do
that than in the Wildcats’ home gym.

Louisburg scored 17 of the game’s
first 21 points and the Wildcat defense took care of the rest as they secured a
53-44 win Friday over Anderson County. It was the Wildcats’ first win of the
season and they were happy to get it in their home opener.

“It was a great start for us,” Louisburg coach Ty Pfannenstiel said. “We let them back in it a little bit and they were able to steal some of that energy, but our defense led to our offense. There are going to be nights where you have good offensive nights, and there are some where you are going to struggle, but your defense always has to be a constant. As a team, I think we have bought into that. We have always had that offensive mindset, but now I think we proved we can play that tough on-ball defense. We have a long ways to go, but we definitely made some improvement.”

The Wildcats (1-2) used that full-court pressure into some easy baskets early in the contest. Junior guard Weston Guetterman opened the game with a steal and score, senior Michael Waldron hit a pair of 3-pointers and Guetterman hit 3-pointer near the end of the first quarter to give Louisburg a 15-4 lead after one quarter.

Junior Connor Koesser hit a basket
to make it 17-4 early in the second quarter before Anderson County cut into the
lead. The Bulldogs went on a 12-0 run to cut the Louisburg lead to one point.

The game started to get physical as both teams played aggressive. Late in the first half, both teams went for loose ball on the floor and things got a little heated.

That play seemed to spark the
Wildcats as they went on an 8-0 run to end the second quarter. Sophomore Julian
Margrave was fouled on a 3-point attempt and made all three free throws and
junior Ben Guetterman followed that up with a 3-pointer of his own.

Then, just seconds before the end of the quarter, Waldron dove on the floor for a steal and passed the ball up to Weston Guetterman, who found Ben Guetterman under the basket. Ben made the shot and was fouled to put Louisburg up 25-17 at halftime.

Defense was the difference for the Wildcats as they forced 15 turnovers and scored 23 points off those miscues. They also had nine steals in the game.

“We put a big emphasis in practice the last couple of day of playing aggressive defense and taking the team out of what they want to do,” Pfannenstiel said. “We came out with full-court pressure and I think that brought us a lot of energy. It was a good environment and Anderson County was an aggressive team too. I am just proud of how hard we fought. It was a physical game, and the officials were letting some things go on both ends, but I really thought we grew as a team after this win.”

Louisburg ballooned its lead to 13
points midway through the third quarter, but Anderson County made another run
as it trimmed the Wildcats’ lead to 40-35 early in the fourth. The Bulldogs,
however, could get no closer as the Wildcats held off the Bulldogs thanks to
seven points in the quarter from Margrave.

Margrave led the Wildcats in
scoring with 18 points on the night. Weston Guetterman also had a big night
from the point guard spot as he finished with 11 points, a team-high seven
rebounds, six assists and three steals.

Michael Waldron also had 11 points
in the win, including three 3-pointers. Ben Guetterman had nine points and six
rebounds.

The Wildcats will try and make it two in a row at home Friday when they host Piper. Tipoff is set for approximately 7:30 p.m., and Louisburg is ready to take another step forward.

“Each game we have been in, we
have been right there,” Pfannenstiel said. “Instead of calling them losses, we
have tried to call them learning opportunities. It is a loss, but we have
learned from those. After the Tongie game, we worked on being more patient
offensively, and I think that led to better offense against Burlington. But our
defense wasn’t that good at Burlington and we didn’t take care of the ball.
This game, we really stressed defense, and if we could put both together, I
think we have a shot every night.”

LOU               15           10           15           13 – 53

AC                  4             13           13           14 – 44

LOUISBURG (1-2): Julian Margrave
6-11 6-6 18; Weston Guetterman 4-10 2-3 11; Michael Waldron 4-8 0-0 11; Ben
Guetterman 3-8 1-3 9; Garrett Rolofson 1-4 0-0 2; Connor Koesser 1-1 0-0 2.
Totals: 19-48 9-12 53. 3-point field goals: 6, (Waldron 3, B. Guetterman 2, W.
Guetterman 1)