Freshman Delaney Wright drives to the basket on a Metro Academy defender last Tuesday in Louisburg.

It wasn’t a typical game for the
Louisburg girls basketball team last Tuesday as it prepared for its next to
last game of the season against rival Paola.

The Lady Cats hosted Metro
Academy, an Olathe school that is not part of the Kansas State High School
Activities Association, and one the team wasn’t familiar with.

Louisburg coach Shawn Lowry
decided to use that opportunity to go down deeper into his bench to get players
some varsity time ahead of postseason play. Several Lady Cats made an impact on
the game as they came away with a 46-36 win and picked up their second straight
victory in the process.

Lowry subbed in five players at a
time through most of the game and the Lady Cats were able to wear down Metro
Academy.

“It was an opportunity for us to
look at some different lineups or rotations for postseason looks,” Lowry said. “It
wasn’t our Senior Night and it was a different opponent than we are used to. It
allowed us to do some different things and gave girls an opportunity to show
what they can do.”

Junior Madilyn Melton was a force
inside for the Lady Cats as she finished with a game-high 18 points, including
an 8 for 9 performance from the free-throw line, and also had a team-high four
steals.

Junior Sydni Keagle came off the
bench and was second on the team in scoring, along with sophomore Brooklyn
Diederich, who each finished with six points.

Freshman Delaney Wright also
helped Louisburg defensively with four steals and senior Carson Buffington had
a team-high seven rebounds and four assists. Juniors Erin Lemke and Ashley
Moore, sophomores Madison Quinn and Megan Foote and freshman Jordan Mynsted
also gave the Lady Cats good minutes

“I am extremely proud of those girls
that came in off the bench,” Lowry said. “I think they were a little
shell-shocked at first, but once they settled in, I thought their defense was
really good, they caused turnovers, were active and did a really nice job.”

It was a back and forth game for
much of the first half, but the Lady Cats ended the second quarter strong as
they went on an 11-0 run thanks to baskets from Melton, Diederich, Quinn and
Mynsted to take a 27-19 halftime lead.

Metro Academy cut the Louisburg
lead to one early in the fourth quarter, but the Lady Cats went on another 8-2
run to put the game away.

“As a coach, I need to see those
starters or regular players show a little more intensity,” Lowry said. “We have
to get more intensity and that is on our captains to set the tone for us and
they will do that. They have a done it all year. It was a little different
night and had so many distractions, but now it is time to get dialed in.”

LOU               9             18           6             12 – 46

MA                11           8             10           7 – 36

LOUISBURG: Madilyn Melton 5-10 8-9
18; Brooklyn Diederich 2-4 0-0 6; Sydni Keagle 1-1 3-4 6; Erin Lemke 2-4 0-0 5;
Jordan Mynsted 2-5 0-0 4; Delaney Wright 1-4 2-3 4; Madison Quinn 0-2 2-2 2;
Carson Buffington 0-2 1-2 1. Totals: 13-45 16-20 46. 3-point field goals: 4,
(Diederich 2, Keagle, Lemke)

Louisburg sophomore Weston Guetterman drives to the basket during the second half of Tuesday’s game with Metro Academy.

Louisburg boys basketball coach Ty
Pfannenstiel was a little conflicted Tuesday following the Wildcats’ game with
Metro Academy.

On one hand, his team rallied from
25 points down to cut the Metro Academy lead to one late in Louisburg’s 63-60
loss. Pfannenstiel was more than pleased with his team’s fight.

However, as pleased as he was with
how his team finished, the Louisburg coach was just as frustrated with the start
as the Wildcats managed just 15 first half points and were on the verge of
having a running clock in the second half.

“That was a really good comeback,” Pfannenstiel said. “I wasn’t sure if we should be excited that we fought all the way back or that we should be mad that we came out so flat. I think it was disappointing how we started the game, but I thought we did a lot of nice things to get back in it and had a lot of guys that sparked us. We went with the hot hand and that group in the fourth quarter really carried us.

“We struggled to score early and
sometimes our energy is sparked when we see the ball go through the hoop and
sometimes it is getting the right guys on the court at the same time.”

The Wildcat underclassmen gave the
team the spark they were looking for as several of them made big baskets down
the stretch to get Louisburg back in it.

Junior Michael Waldron led the
Wildcats in scoring with 14 points, including four 3-pointers, as he keyed the
Wildcat comeback along with a few others. Freshman Julian Margrave came off the
bench to also finish in double figures with 13.

Madden Rutherford was able to help the Wildcats on both sides of the ball as he finished with eight points and had team-highs in rebounds (eight) and assists (four). Sophomores Ben Guetterman and Weston Guetterman added seven and six points, respectively.

Early in the contest, the Wildcats
weren’t able to get in a rhythm offensively and Metro Academy took advantage.
Metro knocked down eight 3-pointers in the contest, many of those coming in the
first half, and took a 32-15 halftime lead.

“We were standing around and
watching, not crashing the board and not moving without the ball,” Pfannenstiel
said. “I thought we were better in the second half. The gym was completely
quiet early on and we didn’t do a good job of communicating early. There were
times where I didn’t know what offense we were in because the guards weren’t getting
us set up. It was a weird start to it that is for sure, but those things add
up.”

The Wildcats will try and end
their regular season on a good night tonight when they host Paola. It is also
Senior Night for Louisburg as the Wildcats will honor Brayden Gage, Noah Hill,
Dylan DeShazer and Kohl Vogel for their time with the program.

“Our kids always get up for the
Paola game and they are going to be excited,” Pfannenstiel said. “Winning this
game is important because we want to send our seniors out on a good note, but also
to have some momentum going into sub-state. We want to enter the postseason
with as much confidence as we can.”

LOU               9             6             19           26 – 60

MA                20           12           16           15 – 63

LOUISBURG (8-11): Michael Waldron
4-8 2-2 14; Julian Margrave 6-11 0-0 13; Madden Rutherford 2-6 3-3 8; Ben
Guetterman 2-4 3-3 7; Weston Guetterman 1-4 4-5 6; Kohl Vogel 2-12 0-0 4;
Brayden Gage 2-4 0-0 4; Noah Hill 1-1 2-4 4. Totals: 20-54 14-17 60. 3-point
field goals: 6, (Waldron 4, Rutherford, Margrave)

Louisburg senior Kohl Vogel splits the Bonner Springs defense to put up a shot Thursday during the Wildcats’ game in Louisburg.

The Louisburg boys basketball team
knew it was going to be a difficult task Thursday when the Wildcats hosted
Bonner Springs, the No. 4-ranked team in Class 5A.

As it turned out, the Wildcats
were up for the challenge and even took a lead into the second quarter.
Unfortunately for Louisburg, Bonner Springs’ speed and athleticism won out in
the long run.

The Braves scored 48 points in the
second and third quarters as they downed Louisburg, 69-49, but the Wildcats
showed a lot of fight down the stretch despite being down double-digits in the
fourth quarter.

“I think we did some good things,
especially in the first half, before they were able to stretch the lead out a
little bit,” Louisburg coach Ty Pfannenstiel said. “We got out of our
triangle-and-2 and tried to give them a little different look, but those kids
just really know how to score. They play really well and move without the ball
and find the weaknesses in your defense.

“I thought our kids executed
really well and made it tough on them, especially early on. We were playing
against some really quick guards and really good athletes, so there were a lot of
good things we could take away from this.”

Louisburg (8-10) slowed the game
down in the first quarter and eventually built a 12-10 lead going into the
second period before the Braves outscored the Wildcats 48-22 in the next two quarters.

The Wildcats had a tough time
containing the Braves’ trio of Alan Watson, Keyon Thomas and Rishaud Dockery.
Watson led all scorers with 23 points, while Thomas and Dockery scored 14 and
12 points, respectively.

Bonner Springs scored 29 points
off Wildcat turnovers and were able to score a lot of points in transition.

Louisburg senior Kohl Vogel led
the Wildcats in scoring with 11 points and sophomore Ben Guetterman also scored
in double figures with 10. Freshman Julian Margrave and junior Madden
Rutherford added eight and seven points, respectively.

The Wildcats have two final games
remaining before postseason basketball arrives. Louisburg will host Metro
Academy at 6:30 p.m. tonight before ending the regular season at home against
Paola for Senior Night.

Pfannenstiel believes this game,
along with the Wildcats’ win over Eudora before that, will give his team some
confidence heading into an important part of their season.

“We played a complete game against
Eudora earlier in the week, but this was a different speed and style of game,”
he said. “But we needed a game like this as a toughness factor because you have
to be strong with the ball and be quick and look ahead. If we can play with
that same fight and intensity in these next two games, I think we will be in
good shape.”

LOU               12           14           8             15 – 49

BON              10           26           22           11 – 69

LOUISBURG (8-10): Kohl Vogel 5-10
0-0 11; Ben Guetterman 3-7 2-2 10; Julian Margrave 3-4 0-0 8; Madden Rutherford
3-4 0-1 7; Dylan DeShazer 2-4 1-4 5; Michael Waldron 1-5 1-3 3; Weston
Guetterman 1-3 0-0 2; Noah Hill 0-1 2-4 2; Brayden Gage 0-3 1-2 1. Totals:
18-42 7-16 49. 3-point field goals: 6, (B. Guetterman 2, Margrave 2, Vogel,
Rutherford)

Louisburg senior guard Kennia Hankinson pushes the ball up the floor Thursday during the Lady Cats’ game with Bonner Springs in Louisburg.

It was a frustrating first half
for both Louisburg and Bonner Springs on Thursday at Louisburg High School.

The two teams combined for just 16 points offensively, and neither squad could get in any kind of rhythm.

As for the second half, Louisburg
was able to work out its kinks on offense and still made it difficult on Bonner
Springs. The Lady Cats scored 35 points in the second half and rolled to a
47-21 win as they got a nice victory heading into their final week of the
season.

“They were playing hard and our
defense set the tone for us,” Louisburg coach Shawn Lowry said. “Our defense
can be really good and we are able to make adjustments out of it. I am not sure
this group knows how good they can be if they can clean up some things like
finishing at the rim, free throws and some discipline things like with our
passing. They will grind it out and work their tails off defensively, but we
have to get more offense out of our defense.”

Louisburg held Bonner Springs to
just four first half points, and while the Braves were able to score a bit more
in the second half, the Lady Cats’ defense still set the tone and it started
with junior Haley Cain.

Cain had the assignment of
shadowing Bonner Springs forward Kim Whetstone, who is the Braves’ main scoring
threat on the inside. Cain and the Lady Cats held Whetstone to just three
points and made it difficult for the Braves to score.

“I have to give credit to Haley
for that,” Lowry said. “I had her shadow (Whetstone) most of the night and she
did a good job of being physical with her and moving her out of place. Haley
has been that good defensively all year for us. Sometimes it won’t show up on
the stat sheet, but what she does is really good for our team.”

The Lady Cats (8-10) took a 12-4
lead into halftime and struggled offensively with leading scorer Madilyn Melton
in foul trouble for most of the first half with three fouls.

Louisburg picked it up in the
second half and it started with senior Carson Buffington, who was all over the
floor for the Lady Cats. Buffington was one rebound and three steals away from
recording a triple-double as she affected the game on both sides of the floor.

Buffington finished the game with
a team-high in points (16) and rebounds (nine). Defensively, she was a force as
well with 10 deflections that led to seven steals.

“This is what she has been since
she came here as a freshman,” Lowry said of Buffington. “No one will out work
her and no one will be tougher than she is. She will be that way until she
walks off that floor in her last game.”

Melton came back from foul trouble
in the second half to finish with 15 points and junior Sydni Keagle came off
the bench to finish with seven. Keagle gave the Lady Cats’ some nice minutes
with Melton on the bench in the first half.

“Our defense will hold us
together, even if we have one or two players go out with foul trouble,” Lowry
said. “I thought Sydni did a nice job for us coming off the bench and again she
plugs right in and defensively she knows where she needs to be and offensively
she gave us a boost too.”

Louisburg will try and make it two
wins in a row tonight when it hosts Metro Academy for a 5 p.m. tipoff.

LOU               4             8             14           21 – 47

BON              2             2             7             10 – 21

LOUISBURG (8-10): Carson
Buffington, 5-10 5-5 16; Madilyn Melton 5-8 5-7 15; Sydni Keagle 2-4 2-5 7;
Alyse Moore 2-11 0-0 4; Jordan Mynsted 0-0 2-3 2; Kennia Hankinson 1-10 0-0 2;
Ashley Moore 0-0 1-4 1. Totals: 15-56 15-25 47. 3-point field goals: 2,
(Buffington, Keagle).

Louisburg senior Brayden Gage glides to the basket for two points Tuesday during the Wildcats’ home win Tuesday over Eudora.

For the better part of a decade,
the Louisburg boys basketball team has found zero success against Eudora.

Wins have been impossible to come
by against the Cardinals and that included Louisburg’s 28-point loss to Eudora
earlier in the season.

Mission impossible became possible for the Wildcats.

Louisburg held Eudora to just four
points in the third quarter and put together an consistent offensive effort in
its 49-39 victory Tuesday at Louisburg High School. The win improved the
Wildcats’ record to 8-9 on the season and left for a happy locker room when it
was all over.

“For us to lose the way we did
against them the first time, we got it put on us pretty good, so it was a great
win for sure,” Louisburg coach Ty Pfannenstiel said. “Obviously they are
missing their key guy, but they are still a really good team. Their bigs are
tough inside and they get really good position and are well-coached. It was important
for us to get a win and it was a signature win that our program needed. Our
kids are excited, for sure. That was a good basketball game.”

It was a back and forth first half
that ended with a three-point Louisburg lead at halftime after senior Kohl
Vogel knocked down a 3-pointer and freshman Julian Margrave made two free
throws.

Louisburg’s defense stepped it up in the third quarter as it held the Cardinals’ offense in check and Vogel stepped up on the offensive end. Vogel scored five straight points and sophomore Ben Guetterman knocked down a 3-pointer to give Louisburg a nine-point lead.

Senior Brayden Gage made a runner
in the lane late in the period, and Margrave knocked down a 3-pointer to put
Louisburg up 12 going into the fourth quarter.

Vogel was a spark offensively for the Wildcats as he finished with a game-high 18 points and seven rebounds, while Margrave was next with eight points. Senior Dylan DeShazer and Gage each added seven points.

Junior Madden Rutherford also
finished with seven rebounds and a team-high four assists.

“Kohl is our consistent offensive
threat, for sure,” Pfannenstiel said. “He just finds ways to slash and score. I
thought he was really good. We need him to score 16 to 20 points a game for us
to be successful. The guys did a good job of getting the ball to him. We went
back to wanting to push the ball a little bit more and I think that helps us
out. I think that is Kohl’s game is getting out in transition.”

Eudora made things interesting in the
fourth quarter as it cut the Wildcat lead to six and Louisburg had to call a
couple different timeouts during that stretch. Louisburg would knock down its
free throws in the final minutes as Gage converted a 3-point play and sophomore
Weston Guetterman also hit a bucket to seal the win.

“It is almost like we got a little
lead and then we started to relax a little bit,” Pfannenstiel said. “We have to
learn play with a lead and the reason we got that lead to begin with was
because we are disciplined fundamentally. I was proud of the way we responded
because there have been times where things have gone downhill and they have
continued to go downhill.”

Louisburg returns to action tonight
when it host Bonner Springs in what is its first of three straight games at
home to end the season. The game was moved from Friday due to weather concerns.
Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

LOU               10           14           13           12 – 49

EUD               11           10           4             14 – 39

LOUISBURG (8-9): Kohl Vogel 7-11
1-1 18; Julian Margrave 2-2 2-2 8; Brayden Gage 3-4 1-1 7; Dylan DeShazer 2-5
2-2 7; Ben Guetterman 1-5 0-0 3; Weston Guetterman 1-3 0-2 2; Noah Hill 1-2 0-0
2; Madden Rutherford 0-3 2-4 2. Totals: 17-37 8-12 49. 3-point field goals: 7,
(Vogel 3, Margrave 2, DeShazer, B. Guetterman)

Louisburg’s (from left) Brooklyn Diederich, Haley Cain and Madilyn Melton try and trap a Eudora player for a steal Tuesday in Louisburg.

The last time the Louisburg girls
basketball team squared off with Eudora, the Lady Cats walked off the court
after a 23-point loss.

It was a different game Tuesday
when Louisburg hosted Eudora in its first of four straight home contests. The Lady
Cats trailed by just six points early in the fourth quarter and were within
striking distance of the No. 9-ranked team in the state.

Instead, foul trouble and
turnovers hampered the Lady Cats in their comeback effort as they fell 49-39
and are now 7-10 on the season.

“We have to find ways to finish plays,”
Louisburg coach Shawn Lowry said. “Defensively we are doing a good job, but we
are killing ourselves right now with turnovers, not finishing and those are
things that are on us. No one is doing that stuff to us, we are doing it to
ourselves.

“The good things is, those are
things we can fix, but it just about the focus and discipline to be able to do
it. This group wants to do the right thing, but it is just understanding and
getting execution part right.”

Louisburg trailed just 13-12 after
a back-and-forth first quarter and was down 24-19 despite seniors Carson
Buffington and Kennia Hankinson picking up three fouls. Buffington would go on
to pick up her fourth in the third quarter and the Lady Cats managed just five
points in the third.

The Lady Cats committed 24 turnovers against the Eudora zone defense and also sent the Cardinals to the free-throw line 30 times as they converted 19 of them. Louisburg made it to the line just seven times.

Eudora’s Riley Hiebert caused
Louisburg problems all night as she finished with a game-high 22 points. Harper
Schreiner added 13 and Reagan Hiebert added 11 in the win. The three Eudora
players combined for 46 of the team’s 49 points.

“We did a fairly good job at times
against the zone,” Lowry said. “Eudora has some nice players that present some
issues, in particular with their outside shooting. We didn’t contain on the drive
very well and that is some things we need to clean up on. Part of it was we did
some different defensive stuff with a 3-2, but we just got together (Tuesday) after
having no practices or school for a while, but we have to be ready either way.”

Louisburg sophomore Madilyn Melton
led Louisburg in scoring with 14 points and also had a team-high eight rebounds
in the loss. Hankinson also finished in double figures with 11 and junior Haley
Cain added seven.

Sophomore Alyse Moore and
Buffington each ended the game with six rebounds and Buffington also had a
team-high six assists.

The Lady Cats will try and get
back on track tonight when it hosts Bonner Springs. The game was originally
scheduled for Friday, but was moved up to due inclement weather. Tipoff is set
for 6 p.m.

“It is not necessarily about wins
or losses, but we need to have three good games going into postseason play,”
Lowry said. “We are going to hammer on that. It is all about how we want to
finish. How do the seniors want to finish this journey? How do their teammates
want to finish this ride together? It has to be the work we do in practice and
having a high intensity level in games.”

LOU               12           7             5             15 – 39

EUD               13           11           9             16 – 49

LOUISBURG (7-10): Madilyn Melton
6-13 2-2 14; Kennia Hankinson 3-11 2-2 11; Haley Cain 3-4 0-0 7; Alyse Moore
1-3 1-2 4; Brooklyn Diederich 1-7 0-0 3. Totals: 14-42 5-7 39. 3-point field
goals: 6, (Hankinson 3, Cain, Diederich, Moore).

Louisburg senior Kennia Hankinson drives on Spring Hill’s Lauren Delker on Friday in Spring Hill.

SPRING HILL – The Louisburg girls
basketball team did exactly what head coach Shawn Lowry wanted them to do after
halftime.

Lowry implored his team to come out focused, play aggressive and perform well offensively. The Lady Cats did all those things as they scored 19 third quarter points to take a slim lead over Spring Hill on the road Friday.

Louisburg just couldn’t sustain
it.

Spring Hill went on a big run to
start the fourth quarter and the Lady Cats couldn’t recover in a 53-44 loss to
the Broncos at Spring Hill High School.

“We talk about the first few
minutes of that third quarter being some of the most important of the game,”
Lowry said. “It kinda sets the tone and I thought the girls really took that to
heart. I thought our leadership was really good and they were talking to each
other out there and flying around. Once we get to that position, we need to
find a way to take it to the next level.”

Louisburg (7-9) held a 36-35 lead
late in the third quarter, but Spring Hill went on a 15-3 run in the fourth
thanks to five Wildcat turnovers that turned into baskets on the other end. For
the game, Spring Hill scored 20 points off the Louisburg mistakes.

Neither team shot well from the
field, as Louisburg shot 26 percent for the game and Spring Hill made 32
percent of its shots. At the free-throw line, the Lady Cats were just 12 of 23.

“I sure like our group of kids and
I really enjoy coaching them,” Lowry said. “They give so much and they play
together and are so unselfish. For them, I am not sure they realize the team
that they can be if we can have that mentality that we can finish at the rim
and be disciplined about making our free throws. It is those two things that is
the gap for us right now and those are two of the easier parts of the game. The
kids are playing hard, the defensive effort is really good and they are
rebounding the ball for the most part, so we need to get some of those other
things cleaned up.”

Sophomore Madilyn Melton gave the
Lady Cats a big boost inside as she finished with a team-high 18 points and
nine rebounds. Fellow sophomore Alyse Moore also chipped in nine points and
eight boards.

Senior Carson Buffington also had
a big night on the glass with a team-high 14 rebounds and finished with seven
points.

After a back-and-forth first
quarter, Spring Hill started to pull away and actually led by 11 points late in
the first half. That is when the Lady Cats made their move as they outscored
Spring Hill 19-9 in the third quarter and took the lead on two different occasions
thanks to baskets from Melton and Moore.

Louisburg had its chances in the
fourth, but were just 3 for 11 in the final period from the free-throw line and
the Lady Cats weren’t able to catch back up.

Lauren Delker led Spring Hill in
scoring with 14 points and Alli Frank finished with 10. Bella Todd was also big
for Spring Hill with eight points and 13 rebounds.

The Lady Cats return home for the
final four games of the season starting Tuesday when they host Eudora.
Louisburg will then face off with Bonner Springs at home Friday.

“Eudora is going to be a really
good basketball team that we see on Tuesday, and Bonner has some really good
players on Friday and it will be tough,” Lowry said. “But I think this group is
going to respond in these last four games and I am excited to get back on the
court with them.”

LOU               10           7             19           8 – 44

SH                  12           16           9             16 – 53

LOUISBURG (7-9): Madilyn Melton
7-14 4-6 18; Alyse Moore 3-7 2-2 9; Carson Buffington 1-7 4-6 7; Kennia
Hankinson 2-15 1-5 6; Haley Cain 1-2 0-0 3; Megan Foote 0-3 1-4 1. Totals:
14-55 12-23 44. 3-point field goals: 4, (Buffington, Hankinson, Cain, Moore)

Louisburg sophomore Ben Guetterman puts up a shot over a couple Spring Hill defenders Friday during the Wildcats’ game at Spring Hill High School.

SPRING HILL – Friday’s game with
Spring Hill was one the Louisburg boys basketball team would quickly like to
forget.

Offense for the Wildcats was
limited, and despite a solid defensive effort, Louisburg couldn’t get the road
win it was looking for in a 48-25 loss to the Broncos at Spring Hill High
School.

The Wildcats (7-9) put themselves
in a big hole early on as Louisburg went scoreless in the second quarter and
were outscored 27-5 in the second and third quarters. Louisburg had a difficult
time against Spring Hill’s length as it couldn’t get a good shot against the
Broncos’ zone defense.

“Spring Hill took us out of rhythm a little bit,” Louisburg coach Ty Pfannenstiel said. “I knew they had that zone in their pocket and I am surprised they didn’t use it the first time we played them. That is the first time a team we have played has primarily went zone against us. We have seen it a few times here and there, but with their length, they were able to cause some problems for us. We were pretty passive against it, we didn’t’ pass really well out of it and we didn’t catch ready to shoot.

“To not score at all in the second
quarter just really took us out of it and never really allowed us to get back
in it. We have to find ways to score no matter what someone is playing against
us and we just didn’t have it this time. Defensively I thought we played
alright and holding them under 50 is about where we want to be. We have to be
able to put the ball in the bucket.”

It was a competitive game after
the first quarter as Louisburg trailed just 12-9, but Spring Hill outscored the
Wildcats 10-0 in the second quarter and 17-5 in the third to pull away.

Louisburg had a tough time containing Spring Hill senior Brennen Feeback as he recorded a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds.

“He is just consistent,”
Pfannenstiel said of Feeback. “In all the games I have coached against him he
has probably been around the 15-20 point mark each time. He is a consistent
player and he has a lot of energy and bounce. He is a great player and he is
tough to stop.”

Wildcat senior Kohl Vogel led
Louisburg in scoring with 10 points, but was the lone Wildcat to reach double
figures.

The Wildcats return to action
Tuesday when they host Eudora for their first of four straight home games
before the start of the postseason. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

“We will get home and face a couple good teams in Eudora and Bonner Springs this week,” Pfannenstiel said. “It will be great to play in front of our fans again and hopefully we can get a little momentum going.”

LOU               9             0             5             11 – 25

SH                  12           10           17           9 – 48

LOUISBURG (7-9): Kohl Vogel 4-9
0-1 10; Dylan DeShazer 2-4 0-1 4; Weston Guetterman 1-3 1-2 3; Brayden Gage 1-4
0-1 2; Noah Hill 1-5 0-0 2; Ben Guetterman 1-7 0-0 2; Madden Rutherford 1-2 0-0
2. Totals: 11-41 1-5 25. 3-point field goals: 2, (Vogel 2)

Louisburg junior Madden Rutherford puts up a shot over an Ottawa defender Friday during the Wildcats’ homecoming game.

The Louisburg boys basketball team
needed to play one of its better games of the season Friday when it hosted
state-ranked Ottawa for homecoming.

Ottawa was ranked No. 6 in Class
4A coming into the game and the Wildcats had a big challenge on their hands. As
it turned out, Louisburg was more than ready for the Cyclones.

The Wildcats stayed within striking distance for much of the game, and even trailed by just three points with under two minutes left, but couldn’t get that key shot to go down in a 61-49 loss.

“I was definitely proud with the way
our guys fought and battled and pretty good Ottawa team,” Louisburg coach Ty
Pfannenstiel said. “This was a game we can definitely learn things from and get
better. It seemed like we just couldn’t get that big shot to fall to get the
lead there late, and I know some of the guys are frustrated, but we did some
good things out there.”

Louisburg (7-8) found itself down
six points at the end of the first quarter and the Wildcats lit it up from behind
the arch in the second quarter to cut into the Cyclone lead even more.
Louisburg knocked down four 3-pointers in the frame, including three from
Michael Waldron, who finished with a team-high nine points.

Freshman Julian Margrave also came off the bench to knock down a 3-pointer and senior Noah Hill had a couple big makes under the basket.

“Michael had a really good game
for us and probably one of his best ones,” Pfannenstiel said. “He had a really
great night shooting the ball and did some nice things. Michael, along with Ben
Guetterman, and now Julian, have given us some consistent perimeter shooting
and hopefully some others will be able to step up in that area as well.”

The Wildcats, which trailed 29-24
at halftime, hung around in the second half and threatened the Cyclones late in
the game when senior Brayden Gage knocked down a 3-pointer with 1 minute and 45
seconds left in the game to cut the Ottawa lead to 3.

Louisburg had a chance to tie the game following that possession, but couldn’t get the shots to fall. The Wildcats got good opportunities most of the night thanks to a patient offense.

“We have been much more patient
when we get into an offensive set and that is something that we needed to work
on because sometimes we have gotten out of control,” Pfannenstiel said. “But it
was almost to a fault that we didn’t run enough. Ottawa is kind of a big,
lumbering team and we should have gotten more run outs and we should have
emphasized it more. If we can get back to pushing the ball a little more, it
will add a dimension to our team.”

Defense was another reason the
Wildcats were able to hang around as they switched from a zone defense to a
man, which gave the Cyclones a different look. Louisburg was able to force 14
Ottawa turnovers, which led to some run outs, but the Wildcats missed a few easy
attempts in the first half.

“We got down early and they had a
great plan against our 1-3-1 and they did some things that we haven’t seen yet,”
Pfannenstiel said. “They were able to throw it over the top and find a weakness
in that zone. I was just proud of the way we battled back and we were right
there. I think we missed three easy layups in the first half and you can’t do
that stuff. That would have been huge going into halftime with a lead.

“I was a little worried at
halftime because our energy didn’t seem right, but we picked it up in the
second half we were more aggressive playing man and we were concerned about how
effective we would be in it. I think we proved that we can be confident in it.”

Senior Dylan DeShazer tied Waldron
with a team-best nine points, while Hill and senior Kohl Vogel added eight
points each in the loss.

Louisburg returns to action Friday
for its final regular season road game when it travels to Spring Hill. Tipoff
has been moved up to 6:45 p.m.

LOU               8             16           14           11 – 49

OTT               14           15           15           17 – 61

LOUISBURG (7-8): Dylan DeShazer 4
1-1 9; Michael Waldron 3 0-0 9; Kohl Vogel 3 0-0 8; Noah Hill 3 2-3 8; Julian
Margrave 2 0-0 5; Madden Rutherford 2 0-0 4; Ben Guetterman 1 1-1 3; Brayden
Gage 1 0-0 3. Totals: 19 4-5 49. 3-point field goals: 7, (Waldron 3, Vogel 2,
Gage, Margrave)

LOUISBURG RALLIES TO BEAT BALDWIN

For more than half of the game,
the Louisburg boys basketball team was trying to play catch-up after a bad
start against Baldwin last Thursday.

The Wildcats gave up 21 points in the first quarter and were in a big hole early. Louisburg didn’t let that bad start get them down as the Wildcats battled back to take the lead in the third quarter and eventually pulled away for a 71-61 win in Baldwin City.

Louisburg trailed 21-11 after the
first quarter, but the Wildcat offense picked up as it scored 25 points in the
second and trailed by just four at halftime.

It was the Wildcat defense that
rose to the occasion in the second half as it held Baldwin to just five points
in the third quarter and forced 19 turnovers for the game. Louisburg turned
those 19 turnovers into 24 points, which was key in its comeback.

Kohl Vogel led the Wildcats in
scoring with 14 points and the Louisburg senior also finished with five
assists. Sophomore Weston Guetterman and senior Dylan DeShazer each finished in
double figures with 11, while DeShazer also had a team-high seven rebounds.

Senior guard Brayden Gage also had
a strong game with nine points and six assists. Fellow senior Noah Hill
finished the game with seven points, five rebounds and five assists as nine
different Wildcats scored in the game.

LOU               11           25           14           21 – 71

BAL                21           19           5             16 – 61

LOUISBURG: Kohl Vogel 5-12 4-6 14;
Weston Guetterman 4-9 2-3 11; Dylan DeShazer 4-7 3-3 11; Brayden Gage 2-5 4-9
9; Ben Guetterman 2-6 2-2 10; Noah Hill 3-6 1-3 7; Michael Waldron 2-2 0-0 5;
Julian Margrave 2-2 0-0 4; Madden Rutherford 1-5 0-0 2. Totals: 25-54 16-26 71.
3-point field goals: 5, (B. Guetterman 2, W. Guetterman, Gage, Waldron)

Louisburg sophomores Madilyn Melton (left) and Alyse Moore team up to trap an Ottawa player Friday during the Lady Cats’ 54-16 win over the Cyclones.

It had been a rough couple of
weeks for the Louisburg girls basketball team as the Lady Cats had lost five of
their last six games going into Friday’s homecoming game with Ottawa.

As it turned out, a home game was
just what the Lady Cats needed.

Louisburg jumped on Ottawa from
the start behind a strong defensive effort and rolled to a 54-16 win over the
Cyclones. The Lady Cats forced 34 Ottawa turnovers, several of which, turned
into easy baskets on the other end.

“Anytime you can hold a team to 16 points for the game, that is a good defensive effort,” Louisburg coach Shawn Lowry said. “Sure we still had some breakdowns, but that is a good defensive effort.

“Ottawa has some young players
that are going to be around for the next 2-3 years and are going to be good
basketball players. It is part of their learning process now, kind of like some
of the stuff we have been through.”

The Lady Cats (7-8) also had one of their better games offensively as they shot 45 percent from the field and held Ottawa to just 16 percent from the field. Louisburg was also able to find success from the outside with six 3-pointers.

Louisburg made a statement early
as it outscored Ottawa 17-5 in the first quarter and never looked back.

“Defense is creating offense for us
and that was a big part of our success,” Lowry said. “We were also able to hit
some nice shots on the perimeter and I think we are getting more confidence
there. We did a lot of shooting in practice and I think our free throw shooting
improved as well.”

Sophomore Brooklyn Diederich had a
strong game offensively as she finished with a team-high 14 points, including a
pair of 3-pointers. Defensively, she was also all over the floor and led the
team with five deflections and three steals.

Senior Carson Buffington also
scored in double figures with 12 points and a team-high seven rebounds.
Sophomore Madilyn Melton also added 10 points and finished with five
deflections and two steals on defense.

Louisburg will try for some
revenge on Friday when it competes in its final road game of the season against
Spring Hill and the Lady Cats will have some extra practice time to get ready.
Earlier in the season, the Lady Cats watched Spring Hill comeback from an
18-point deficit to steal a win and Louisburg is hoping to do the same this
time around.

“It is an interesting time of the
season, but it gives us a chance to work on some fundamental stuff and then get
ready to play our last away game of the season against Spring Hill,” Lowry
said. “The girls like playing Spring Hill and they have a lot of friends on
that team and they are excited to play them, especially after giving up an
18-point lead.”

LOU               17           10           14           13 – 54

OTT               5             5             6             0 – 16

LOUISBURG: (7-8): Brooklyn
Diederich 5-7 2-2 14; Carson Buffington 4-8 2-3 12; Madilyn Melton 4-7 2-3 10;
Alyse Moore 3-5 0-0 6; Haley Cain 1-3 1-2 4; Kennia Hankinson 1-7 0-0 3; Megan
Foote 0-1 3-5 3; Jordan Mynsted 1-1 0-0 2. Totals: 19-42 10-15 54. 3-point
field goals: 6, (Buffington 2, Diederich 2, Hankinson, Cain)