The Louisburg boys basketball team faced an uphill battle before Monday’s game with Spring Hill even started.

The Wildcats were without their leading scorer and rebounder in senior Gavin Lohse, who was out with an injury, and had their return from break pushed back a week due to winter weather.

It wasn’t exactly the start to 2025 that Louisburg was hoping for and Spring Hill continued that tough trend for the Wildcats.

The Broncos shot better than 50 percent from the field, and put the Wildcats in a hole they couldn’t dig out of as they handed Louisburg a 70-37 loss.

“Spring Hill shot so well against us in the first half,” Louisburg coach Ben Doll said. “I thought we played hard and didn’t do bad defensively in the first half, but they hit big shot after big shot. 

“Then in the second half we just ran out of gas and couldn’t guard very well. They started getting to where they wanted to go easily and we can’t do that and expect to win or be in games. Not having Gavin right now really hurts but we still have to be way better defensively to give us a chance.”

Spring Hill shot 56 percent from the floor as it jumped out to a 22-8 lead after the first quarter. Louisburg struggled to get things going in the second half as it scored 12 points in the two quarters.

Senior Luke Schultz led the way with a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds, while junior Owen Marsh finished with a team-high 12 points. Another senior, Ethan Kush, also had six rebounds on the night.

Jackson Bruce had a big night for the Broncos as he scored a game-high 22 points on a perfect 9-for-9 from the floor. His teammate, Jordan Miller, had a game-high 10 assists and five steals.

The schedule doesn’t ease up for the Wildcats as they travel to No. 1 Baldwin on Friday for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff.

LOU 8 17 4 8 — 37

SH 22 18 16 14 — 70

LOUISBURG (2-5): Owen Marsh 5-8 0-0 12; Luke Schultz 5-12 1-3 11; Lance Callahan 2-3 0-0 6; Derek Frederick 1-7 0-0 3; Ethan Kush 1-4 1-2 3; Myles Vohs 1-11 0-0 2. Totals: 15-49 2-7 37. 3-point field goals: 5, (Marsh 2, Callahan 2, Frederick)

Rough start for Louisburg girls ends in loss to Spring Hill

It wasn’t the start to 2025 that the Louisburg girls envisioned for themselves Monday in a home game against Spring Hill. 

The Wildcats couldn’t overcome a big Spring Hill run in the first quarter that ended in a 64-33 loss to the Broncos. 

Spring Hill opened the game on a 21-3 run and the Wildcats were unable to recover as it is their sixth-straight loss to start the season. Louisburg was outscored by just four points in the next two quarters, which led to some positives.

“Spring Hill is a great basketball team,” Louisburg coach Adrianne Lane said. “They have a lot of great players who can handle the ball and take the ball to the basket. After our slow start the girls played with them the rest of the game.

“I thought the girls did a great job playing 1-3-1 defense, and in the second half they did a great job running offense. We ran a lot of offensive sets and the girls did a great job executing.”

Senior Ashlyn Kuhlman led Louisburg in a few different categories. She scored a team-high 13 points, including 11 in the third quarter, to go along with a team-best five rebounds and three blocks.

Another senior, Sabra Brueggen, finished with eight points, including going 6-for-8 from the free-throw line. Senior Ally Brown was next with five points.

Brueggen, junior McKenna Lohse and senior Addy Stohs each had four rebounds, while junior Morgan Latham had a team-high three assists.

Spring Hill’s Isla Herman led all scorers with 18 points and also had 11 rebounds, while Sydney Buscher had 15 points and nine rebounds for the Broncos. 

Louisburg will hit the road Friday as the Wildcats travel to No. 8 Baldwin.

LOU 3 9 13 8 — 33

SH 21 10 16 17 — 64

LOUISBURG: Ashlyn Kuhlman 5-17 0-1 13; Sabra Brueggen 1-2 6-8 8; Ally Brown 2-3 0-0 5; Shylar Whiting 1-3 0-0 3; Jillian Asher 1-8 0-0 2; Morgan Latham 0-3 2-2 2. Totals: 10-44 8-13 33. 3-point field goals: 5, (Kuhlman 3, Whiting, Brown)

BONNER SPRINGS — The Louisburg boys basketball team had a challenging week to end 2024.

The Wildcats fell to the state’s No. 1 team, Baldwin, on Dec. 17 and then had to square off with a Class 5A team in Bonner Springs last Thursday.

Although it put together a second half run, Louisburg couldn’t get past Bonner Springs in a 65-51 loss to run its record to 2-3 on the season.

Louisburg got out to a rough start, as it not only trailed by 18 at halftime, but the Wildcats also had to deal with foul trouble with their two leading scorers in Gavin Lohse and Luke Schultz.

The Wildcats were able to get back in a rhythm offensively in the third quarter as the they outscored Bonner Springs 19-10 and eventually cut the Braves’ lead to seven early in the fourth. 

Lohse led the Wildcats with a double-double as he finished with 22 points and 11 rebounds, with many of those baskets coming in the second half. 

“It was another tough one to start as we struggled to contain the dribble and that got us down 18 at half,” Louisburg coach Ben Doll said. “Gavin played great and we did a good job of getting him going in the third quarter to cut it to 7. Problem with that is, once you get down by so much and make a comeback, you end up running out of steam, which we did. They are a really solid team with good pieces at each spot.”

Schultz also had a big night for the Wildcats as he also recorded a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds in a team-high 19 minutes. 

Lohse and Schultz combined to score 38 of the Wildcats’ 51 points. Senior Myles Vohs tallied a team-high five assists on the night.

The Wildcats will try and bounce back on Jan. 7 when they travel to Harrisonville (Mo.) in their first game back from break.

LOU 8 14 19 10 — 51

BON 16 24 10 15 — 65

LOUISBURG (2-3): Gavin Lohse 9-12 4-4 22; Luke Schultz 5-10 5-8 16; Owen Marsh 2-10 0-0 5; Myles Vohs 2-7 0-0 4; Derek Frederick 1-8 0-0 2; Ethan Kush 1-2 0-0 2. Totals: 20-51 9-14 51. 3-point field goals: 2, (Schultz, Marsh).

Louisburg falls to No. 1 ranked Baldwin

Playing then No. 1 team in the state is never going to be easy, but Louisburg did its best to stay with the top-ranked team in Class 4A on Dec. 17 at home.

After a close first quarter, Baldwin pulled away from Louisburg and handed the Wildcats a 55-36 loss. One of the state’s best players, Cooper Carr, made it tough on the Wildcats as he scored a game-high 23 points.

“We had it to 11 in the third quarter and we missed some easy ones around the basket that would have cut it to nine,” Doll said. “So, I really don’t think the score is indicative of our performance. I think we did better than what the final score said and we did a good job defending Cooper a lot of the time. I mean, he just went to the free throw line, so that’s something that’s really hard to stop, and that was about all he was scoring for a while.

“I thought our effort and everything in our game plan was solid for a little while, until we just had too many turnovers. Then the other thing that hurt was early in the game when they had some guys hit threes that usually don’t hit those shots. That’s the way it goes sometimes.”

The Wildcats trailed just 10-6 after the first quarter, but Baldwin pulled away in the second and eventually built a 22-point lead late in the third quarter.

Senior Gavin Lohse just missed a double-double for Louisburg as he scored nine points and pulled down 11 rebounds. Juniors Owen Marsh and Derek Frederick each scored seven points, while senior Luke Schultz pulled down six rebounds. 

LOU 6 7 10 13 — 36

BAL 10 15 14 16 — 55

LOUISBURG: Gavin Lohse 4-9 1-4 9; Owen Marsh 3-6 0-0 7; Derek Frederick 3-10 0-0 7; Lance Callahan 2-3 0-0 5; Luke Schultz 1-8 2-4 4; Herschel Strumberger 0-0 2-4 2; Ethan Kush 0-2 2-2 2. Totals: 13-46 7-14 51. 3-point field goals: 3, (Marsh, Frederick, Callahan)

BONNER SPRINGS — It has been a rough start to the season for the Louisburg girls basketball team and the schedule hasn’t done it many favors.

Going into Thursday’s game at Bonner Springs, the Wildcats had just played three straight ranked teams and were still looking for their first win of the season.

Despite getting off a to a good start, the Wildcats will be looking for that elusive win after the new year. Bonner Springs came to life offensively in the second half and pulled away to hand Louisburg a 49-37 loss.

“We gave Bonner a great fight,” Louisburg coach Adrianne Lane said. “We played even with them the first half, and the girls did a great job rebounding and running offense. The second half their size did hurt us on the defensive boards.”

The Wildcats (0-5) got out to a good start as they led 9-6 after the first quarter and the two teams were all tied up at 17-all at halftime.

Bonner Springs asserted itself in the second half as it scored 17 points in the third quarter. The Braves then went on a 15-6 run to begin the fourth quarter and never looked back.

Louisburg senior Sabra Brueggen led the Wildcats with eight points on the night and senior Sami Lane finished with seven. 

Junior Morgan Latham had five points and a team-high seven rebounds, while sophomore Kinley Scott provided the Wildcats with some solid minutes in the absence of McKenna Lohse ,who was out with an illness. Scott finished with five points.

“Kinley did a great job for us,” coach Lane said. “She played hard and was not afraid to go to the basket. She got fouled several times and she made several free throws. I was very proud of her effort.”

Seniors Ally Brown, Jillian Asher and sophomore Maddie Yoder each had a team-high three assists.

Louisburg will open the 2025 part of their schedule on the road when it travels to Harrisonville (Mo.) on Jan. 7.

LOU 9 8 11 9 — 37

BON 6 11 17 15 — 49

LOUISBURG (0-5): Sabra Brueggen 8, Sami Lane 7, Morgan Latham 5, Kinley Scott 5, Ashlyn Kuhlman 4, Maddie Yoder 3, Jillian Asher 3, Shylar Whiting 2. 

Louisburg fall to No. 8 Baldwin

Louisburg faced its third ranked team in as many games on Dec. 17, and unfortunately for the Wildcats, the results was the same as the other two.

The Wildcats hosted No. 8 Baldwin and fell short in a 52-41 loss in their final home game of 2024.

“Baldwin is a great team,” coach Lane said. “They are quick and do a great job getting to the basket. The girls battled with them. We did a good job getting the ball inside and finishing in the lane.”

Baldwin got out to a quick start as it scored 17 points in the first quarter, but the Wildcats were able to cut it to four midway through the second and trailed just 27-20 at halftime.

The Bulldogs built a 16-point lead in the third quarter and the Wildcats couldn’t muster enough offense to get back in it. 

Baldwin scored 13 points off 15 Louisburg turnovers and were able to get to the basket as it scored 26 of its 52 points in the paint.

Senior Jillian Asher kept the Wildcats in it offensively as she led Louisburg with 15 points on the night, including three 3-pointers. 

Junior Morgan Latham also did a lot of the work on the inside as she called eight points and a team-high nine rebounds. 

LOU 9 11 10 11 — 41

BAL 17 10 15 10 — 52

LOUISBURG: Jillian Asher 5-9 2-2 15; Morgan Latham 4-7 0-0 8; Ashlyn Kuhlman 2-8 1-4 5; McKenna Lohse 1-4 2-2 4; Ally Brown 2-5 0-0 4; Sami Lane 1-9 0-0 2; Addy Stohs 1-1 0-0 2; Sabra Brueggen 0-2 1-2 1. Totals: 16-46 6-10 41. 3-point field goals: 3, (Asher 3) 

The Louisburg girls basketball team has a tough early schedule and the Wildcats played their second ranked team in as many games Friday when they hosted No. 6 Wamego.

Louisburg stayed within striking distance in the first half, but the Wildcats couldn’t keep up as Wamego used a big second half to pull away and hand Louisburg a 61-37 loss.

“Wamego was a great team,” Louisburg coach Adrianne Lane said. “They play super aggressive and they do a great job going and getting loose balls and rebounds. I thought this was the best we had played as a team. We did a great job playing our roles and executing the new defense.”

The Wildcats’ new defense was to slow down Wamego’s all-state point guard, Lexi Hecht. For much of the game, seniors Shylar Whiting and Jillian Asher were assigned to shadow her at all times.

Although Hecht scored 11 points, she was 4-for-19 from the field and the two Wildcat defenders did their best to not give her open looks. The Wildcats also held Wamego to 32 percent from the floor.

“Shylar and Jill did a great job slowing down their point guard and the entire team did a great job running a new defense and executing,” Lane said. “They all helped on (Hecht) when Shylar and Jill were getting screened as well. Overall great defensive performance for the girls.”

Turnovers haunted the Wildcats as they committed 32 for the game and Wamego turned those into 24 points, which turned out to be a big difference in the game.

Louisburg (0-3) stayed with Wamego in the first half as it trailed by just five in the first quarter and 25-16 at halftime.

The second half, the Red Raiders were able to pull away as they outscored Louisburg, 36-21, in the second half and left the Wildcats still looking for that first win.

Junior Morgan Latham paced the Wildcats on the inside with a strong performance as she had a team-high 14 points and nine rebounds, just missing a double-double. 

Senior Ashlyn Kuhlman was right behind her with eight points and eight rebounds, while senior Sami Lane and junior McKenna Lohse had four rebounds. Senior Ally Brown had a team-high three assists and two steals. 

Louisburg will try for that first win today as the Wildcats host Baldwin in a Frontier League matchup. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.

LOU 6 10 10 11 — 37

WAM 11 14 16 20 — 61

LOUISBURG (0-3): Morgan Latham 4-6 6-10 14; Ashlyn Kuhlman 3-14 0-0 8; McKenna Lohse 2-2 0-0 4; Shylar Whiting 2-5 0-2 4; Jillian Asher 1-3 0-0 3; Sami Lane 0-3 2-2 2; Kinley Scott 0-2 2-2 2. Totals: 12-36 10-16 37. 3-point field goals: 3, (Kuhlman 2, Asher)

It was the kind of grind it out game Louisburg head coach Ben Doll knew he was going to need from his team Friday against Wamego.

Already down starting center Gavin Lohse, the Wildcats were short-handed and found themselves even a little more banged up as starting forward Luke Schultz suffered an ankle injury during the game.

Throw in the fact the Wildcats struggled from the floor, they needed a big effort from its defense. Louisburg got it as it forced 18 turnovers and held Wamego to 32 percent shooting in its 40-32 victory.

“It was a huge win because our schedule is so, so tough right now,” Doll said. “Then being down Gavin and having Luke tweak his ankle and him being limited, but he’s a warrior. We had some other foul trouble and things like that, so there’s nothing easy right now. We thought that was a game that was definitely winnable for us, but you know, we didn’t expect to have all the injuries and other things happen throughout the course of the game.”

Louisburg ended the game strong as it went on a 13-4 run in the final four minutes to pull away from Wamego.

It all started as the Wildcats were down 28-27. With 4 minutes left, junior Derek Frederick hit a 3-pointer to give the Wildcats the lead. 

After Wamego tied the game, Frederick recorded a steal and scored on a breakaway to put the Wildcats up 32-30. Then the Wildcats got production from their bench as freshman Herschel Strumberger was fouled and converted a 3-point play.

Strumberger played crucial minutes throughout the contest with Lohse out with an injury and Schultz limited at times.

“A lot of stuff happened there really late and real quick and there were just some huge plays,” Doll said. “Derek being a new starter and Herschel again getting in there and both made big plays. Being a freshman, I think Herschel kind of not knowing to be scared or anything else, so he just does what’s natural.

“Wamego is a good team. They’re a scrappy team. Then, you know, we were thinking it’s gonna be a kind of a low scoring battle going in and that’s just kind of the way everything went. Both teams just hunkered down defensively. Then their last game went into overtime and they lost in a 33-31 game, so we expected it was gonna be a grind it out type game. But you’d rather learn lessons, and all those kind of things, and get toughness in wins than in losses, so that that’s why this one feels really good.”

Schultz pushed the Wildcat lead to five on a runner in the lane, and then senior Myles Vohs recorded a steal and scored to ice the game with 20 seconds left.

Vohs provided a spark on both ends of the floor. He led Louisburg in scoring with 13 points and had a team-high five rebounds and three assists. 

Schultz also scored in double figures with 10 points and had four rebounds. Strumberger finished with five points and four rebounds as the Wildcat freshman gave Louisburg some key minutes down the stretch.

“Herschel stepped up and he got to play some minutes, some big minutes and we needed a big body in there,” Doll said. “But the problem is he doesn’t know everything we’re trying to do in sets and stuff like that. So we were kind of like with an abbreviated playbook, just trying to get through that, but he did a great job. I mean, as a freshman coming in and getting rebounds, it’s kind of like he doesn’t know to be scared or anything else, which is cool. So he did a really good job, cause they had a good big kid that we needed somebody to match up on with Gavin out.” 

Frederick finished with five points, while junior Owen Marsh had four points to go along with a team-high three steals. 

Louisburg’s schedule gets tougher Tuesday as it hosts No. 2 ranked Baldwin in a Frontier League matchup. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

LOU 11 11 5 13 — 40

WAM 12 8 8 4 — 32

LOUISBURG (2-1): Myles Vohs 4-14 5-11 13; Luke Schultz 3-8 4-8 10; Herschel Strumberger 2-3 1-1 5; Derek Frederick 2-8 0-1 5; Owen Marsh 2-4 0-0 4; Lance Callahan 1-2 0-0 3. Totals: 14-47 10-21 40. 3-point field goals: 2, (Frederick, Callahan)

OTTAWA — Not much seemed to go right for Louisburg in its first road contest of the season Tuesday at Ottawa.

The Wildcats went up against the No. 3-ranked Cyclones and had a hard time getting going against one of the state’s better teams. Ottawa scored 41 first half points and never looked back as it handed Louisburg a 71-34 loss.

As if the loss wasn’t tough enough, the Wildcats had to play without one of their leading scorers, Gavin Lohse, for more than half the game. Lohse had to leave with an injury in the second quarter.

“Ottawa is a great team that played a close to perfect game against us,” Louisburg coach Ben Doll said. “They shot really well, played tough defense and did better than us on the boards. Once we got down big, our shot selection got worse as we tried to shoot ourselves back into the game and that never works. Gavin getting hurt didn’t help either.”

The Cyclones shot 52 percent from the floor as they took a 22-12 lead on Louisburg after one quarter. Ottawa distanced itself in the second with a 19-4 run and took a 41-16 lead at halftime.

Louisburg shot 26 percent from the field and turnovers didn’t help the Wildcat cause either as they had 18 turnovers that led to 26 points. 

Senior Luke Schultz led the Wildcats in scoring with seven points and pulled down a team-high five rebounds. Senior Myles Vohs finished with six points, while Derek Frederick has five points and a team-high three assists. Freshman John Guetterman also added five points in the loss.

Louisburg will try and get back on the winning track tonight as the Wildcats host Wamego. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

LOU 12 4 8 10 — 34

OTT 22 19 24 6 — 71

LOUISBURG (1-1): Luke Schultz 1-4 5-6 7; Myles Vohs 2-7 0-2 6; John Guetterman 2-2 1-1 5; Derek Frederick 1-6 2-2 5; Herschel Strumberger 1-2 0-00 3; Billy Vohs 1-2 0-0 3; Gavin Lohse 1-2 0-0 2; Lance Callahan 1-2 0-0 2; Aiden Kennedy 0-0 1-2 1. Totals: 10-35 9-15 34. 3-point field goals: 5, (M. Vohs 2, B. Vohs, Strumberger)

OTTAWA — Going on the road against a ranked team is always a challenge, but the Louisburg girls basketball team more than held its own Tuesday in Ottawa. 

The Wildcats found themselves down just a point midway through the fourth quarter, but No. 8 Ottawa put together a big run late in the contest to hand Louisburg a 52-45 loss.

Ottawa went on a mini 9-3 run in the final four minutes of the contest to pull away from the Wildcats as it took advantage of some Louisburg mistakes. 

“Overall we played hard and battled against Ottawa,” Louisburg coach Adrianne Lane said. “They are a great team, fast, and they know the game of basketball. We fought to be in the game with them till the very end. Our defense played well, we gave them a couple different looks and I thought the girls did a good job running different defenses.”

Louisburg got out to a good start as it led 10-7 after the first quarter, but the Cyclones battled back to outscore Louisburg 16-11 in the second quarter to take a 2-point halftime lead.

Ottawa pushed its lead to six in the third quarter, but a 3-pointer from Ally Brown right before the end of the quarter cut the Cyclone lead to 3. 

The Cyclones pushed its lead back out to seven in the fourth, but the Wildcats came back again. Senior Ashlyn Kuhlman knocked in a 3-pointer to make it a 39-35 deficit for Louisburg.

Ottawa got the lead back to six, but Kuhlman hit a runner with just over three minutes left and junior McKenna Lohse converted a 3-point play to make it a 43-42 game with 2:50 remaining.

Unfortunately, the Cyclones took advantage of some offensive rebounds and Wildcat turnovers to finish with a 9-3 run.

Mistakes haunted the Wildcats as they committed 27 turnovers, which led to 22 Ottawa points. The Cyclones also pulled down 22 offensive rebounds.

Despite that, the Wildcats shot 46 percent from the floor, which was able to keep them in the game.

“Our turnovers and giving up second chances hurt us down the stretch,” Lane said. “We did a good job finishing in the lane when we did break the press.”

Lohse had a big night for the Wildcats inside as she recorded a double-double. The Louisburg junior finished with 11 points and 11 rebounds and also had two blocks.

Kuhlman led the Wildcat scoring with 12 points and also had two blocked shots. Senior Jillian Asher finished just short of double figures with nine points and three assists.

Senior Shylar Whiting paced Louisburg with five assists, while senior Sami Lane was second on the team with four rebounds. Junior Morgan Latham and Brown each finished with five points.

Louisburg will face off with its second ranked team in as many games tonight as the Wildcats host No. 6 Wamego. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.

LOU 10 11 11 13 — 45

OTT 7 16 12 18 — 52

LOUISBURG (0-2): Ashlyn Kuhlman 5-11 0-0 12; McKenna Lohse 5-11 1-1 11; Jillian Asher 3-4 1-2 9; Morgan Latham 2-5 1-2 5; Ally Brown 2-3 0-0 5; Shylar Whiting 1-2 1-1 3. Totals: 18-39 4-6 45. 3-point field goals: 5, (Asher 2, Kuhlman 2, Brown)

Here is the Louisburg Sports Zone Athlete of the Week for week one of the winter sports season, sponsored by Edward Jones-Craig Holtzen.

GAVIN LOHSE, SENIOR, BASKETBALL

Louisburg senior Gavin Lohse and the Wildcats got out to a good start to the 2024-25 basketball season last Friday at home against Tonganoxie. Lohse was one of three Wildcats to score in double figures in their 77-50 win over the Chieftains as he led the way with 20 points as he played limited minutes to due early foul trouble.

Lohse also made a difference on the defensive end of the floor as well. The Wildcat forward pulled down eight rebounds and had a team-high five steals and six deflections.

The athlete of the week award is announced every Wednesday morning during the winter season and the winner is selected by Louisburg Sports Zone with the help of nominations from coaches.

The Louisburg girls basketball team found itself just minutes away from getting a win Friday in its season opener against Tonganoxie.

Louisburg had seven-point lead with just over three minutes left in the contest, but the Chieftains took advantage of some Wildcat turnovers and second-chance opportunities to hand Louisburg a 44-42 loss.

“That was a super tough loss,” Louisburg coach Adrianne Lane said. “The girls have been working so hard and they really wanted that win.”

The Chieftains went on an 13-4 run to end the game as it earned points at the free-throw line and on offensive rebounds to key the comeback.

A big part to that comeback to for Tonganoxie was its point guard, Alyssa Schoeneck. The Chieftain junior scored a game-high 16 points as she keyed the late game run.

“We needed to do a better job rebounding,” Lane said. “We allowed Tongie so many second chances and it really hurt us in the fourth quarter. Tongie’s point guard was super quick and she was hard for us to guard. The posts did a great job helping in the lane.”

It was a back and forth contest throughout as Tonganoxie took an early 12-6 after the first quarter, but the Wildcats responded in a big way as they outscored the Chieftains 12-4 in the second and took a 2-point halftime lead.

The Chieftains led by one after the third quarter, but the Wildcats went on a run to start the fourth. Ashlyn Kuhlman began by hitting a jumper, and then back-to-back layups by Jillian Asher put the Wildcats up five.

After a couple free throws by Tonganoxie, Louisburg senior Sami Lane knocked in a 3-pointer to put the Wildcats back up 37-31. McKenna Lohse knocked in a free throw to make it 38-31 with 3:29 left in the game.

Tonganoxie went on a 6-0 run to tie it and ended in a lay-in from Schoeneck. Louisburg senior Ally Brown gave the Wildcats the lead back on jumper with 1:30 left in the game, but Schoeneck responded with a 3-point play to put the Chieftains right back up and that is where they would stay.

Kuhlman led the Wildcats in scoring as she finished with 15 points to go along with eight rebounds and six blocked shots. Asher and senior Shylar Whiting each finished with six points for the Wildcats.

Lohse led Louisburg with nine rebounds to go along with a team-high four assists. Senior Sabra Brueggen finished with six rebounds.

It was a tough shooting night for the Wildcats as they were just 28 percent from the field and 6-for-14 from the free-throw line. However, the Wildcats were able to battle through that.

“Overall I felt like the girls played hard,” coach Lane said. “They did not quit and they fought back after getting behind in the first quarter. I also thought the girls did a great job playing together.”

Louisburg will try and bounce back tonight as the Wildcats travel to Ottawa for a Frontier League matchup. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.

LOU 6 12 10 14 — 42

TONG 12 4 13 15 — 44

LOUISBURG (0-1): Ashlyn Kuhlman 6-19, 1-4 15; Jillian Asher 3-4 0-0 6; Shylar Whiting 1-6 3-4 6; Morgan Latham 2-5 0-0 4; McKenna Lohse 1-4 1-2 3; Sami Lane 1-2 0-0 3; Ally Brown 1-8 1-2 3; Addy Stohs 1-4 0-0 2. Totals: 16-50 6-14 42. 3-point field goals: 4, (Kuhlman 2, Whiting, Lane)

It wasn’t exactly the offensive output Louisburg head coach Ben Doll was expecting from his team Friday during the Wildcats’ season opener against Tonganoxie. 

Before the game even started, the Wildcats found out they would be down one of their starters with an illness, and Doll wasn’t sure how his young team would respond. 

Leave it to three seniors to lead the way. Gavin Lohse, Myles Vohs and Luke Schultz all scored 16 or more points in the 77-50 rout of the Chieftains. Not only was it a strong start to the season, but it was more points than the Wildcats scored at any point last year.

The Wildcats also got big shots and minutes from senior Ethan Kush, along with junior Owen Marsh and senior Billy Vohs.

“It is an incredible way to start the season,” Doll said. “Winning is hard at this level and in this league. We start the night with Derek Frederick, who was gonna start and play a lot for us, going home sick, so then we’re down one guy there. So we had to have some other guys step up and they did. Owen Marsh stepped up really well, along with Billy Vohs, so we had some guys come off the bench that we didn’t think we were gonna play that much. Owen played almost the whole game. 

“Then the the big three of Myles, Luke and Gavin just paced us and we also faced foul trouble with them, so I’m just feeling really fortunate that we were able to win the game with their foul trouble and with the sickness of a starter and everything else. We discovered a lot about this group today.”

Lohse, who had to sit most of the second quarter with foul trouble, was a force on the inside for Louisburg. He nearly finished with a double-double as he scored a team-high 20 points and pulled down eight rebounds, to go along with a team-high five steals.

Myles Vohs flirted with a triple-double as the Wildcat point guard played all 32 minutes and finished with 17 points, a team-high nine assists and eight rebounds.

As for Schultz, the Wildcat forward finished with a double-double as he had 16 points and 11 rebounds as he was a constant fixture on the inside. 

Louisburg also controlled the boards as it out rebounded Tonganoxie by 17, and had 12 offensive rebounds.

“Gavin scored 20 points and he missed basically the whole second quarter with foul trouble, so that’s pretty impressive,” Doll said. “We’ve been working with those guys in practice about just, you know, putting the pad on them and finishing around the basket, and him and Luke both did a pretty good job and they they absolutely controlled the boards. 

“Myles did a good job running the team and really did a little bit of everything for us. I’m just really, really happy because there were a lot of things that could have gone differently for us if we let negative stuff get to us. And then we shot the ball from the outside pretty well, too. I mean that obviously helps.”

The Wildcats hit several shots from the outside as it knocked down seven 3-pointers, including three from Kush. Billy Vohs had two and sophomore Lance Callahan hit one in the first half for his first varsity basket.

Louisburg also got strong play from Marsh, who filled in for Frederick, and played all but two minutes of the game and scored six points, had three assists and three steals.

The Wildcats took a 41-25 lead at halftime, and Tonganoxie was able to chip away at the lead a little in the third quarter as it switched to a zone defense. Louisburg eventually figured it out and built a 29-point lead in the second half.

“In the first half, guys like Lance came off the bench and Ethan hit some big shots, so we were able to build a lead,” Doll said. “That forced them to have to do some different things. And in the past, you know, teams would throw some zone at us and stuff like that, and we might not know what to do, but we did a better better job at taking care of the basketball against the zone and just understanding time score and situation. Then we hit a couple of shots and got them out of it.”

Louisburg will see its schedule start to toughen up and that starts Tuesday when it travels to Ottawa, which is currently ranked No. 4 in Class 4A.

“It’s good to get this one and it’s a huge confidence builder,” Doll said. “So hopefully the guys will enjoy this one for a little bit. The schedule gets a lot tougher for sure, and hopefully this builds some confidence that we can work with in practice and get ready for Tuesday.

LOU 18 23 18 18 — 77

TONG 13 12 11 14 — 50

LOUISBURG (1-0): Gavin Lohse 8-12 4-7 20; Myles Vohs 6-13 5-11 17; Luke Schultz 6-13 3-4 16; Ethan Kush 3-6 0-0 9; Owen Marsh 3-7 0-0 6; Billy Vohs 2-3 0-0 6; Lance Callahan 1-1 0-0 3. Totals: 29-55 12-22 77. 3-point field goals: 7, (Kush 3, B. Vohs 2, Schultz, Callahan)