Members of the 2018 Louisburg High School winter homecoming court are (front row, from left): Grant Ryals, Scott Murphy, Kai Tinich, Mitchell Drew; (back row) Haven Trageser-Turner, Isabelle Holtzen, Alexa Goodspeed and Tomi Frederes. 

Homecoming week at Louisburg High School kicked off Monday and events are in full swing. With something going on every day this week, it will be a busy time for students. All of it is, of course, centered around the crowning of the 2018 winter king and queen. Eight students were selected as nominees and here are their names and profiles.

The crowning will take place on Friday at halftime of the boys basketball game with Eudora. Tipoff for that game is set for approximately 7:30 p.m. Good luck to all the participants and make sure to come out on Friday to support the Wildcat girls and boys teams against the Cardinals.

Kai Tinich and Alexa Goodspeed

Kai Tinich

Kai is the son of Terry and Susan Tinich. He has been involved with student council for four years. Kai has participated in golf for three years, Leo’s Club for three years, FCCLA for two years, FCA for two years, Spanish Club for two years and basketball for one year. After graduation, Kai plans to attend the University of Arkansas to study international business with a minor in Greek or Italian.

Alexa Goodspeed

Alexa is the daughter of Susan Goodspeed. She has participated in cross country for four years, FFA for four years, softball for two years, Spanish Club for two years. She was a basketball manager for one year and participated in Leo’s Club and choir for one year. After graduation, Alexa plans to attend Pittsburg State University and major in physiology.

Tomi Frederes and Mitchell Drew

Tomi Frederes

Tomi is the daughter Christy and Jerry Frederes. She has participated in FFA for four years, cross country and Leo’s Club for three years, softball and Spanish Club for two years and track and volleyball for one year. After graduation, Tomi plans to attend Pittsburg State University and major in business.

Mitchell Drew

Mitchell is the son of Pat and Shanna Drew. He has participated in baseball for four years and football for four years. After graduation, Mitchell plans to attend Pittsburg State University and pursue a bachelor degree in nursing.

Scott Murphy and Isabelle Holtzen

Scott Murphy

Scott is the son of Gene and Amanda Murphy. He has participated in soccer, band, stage crew, Model United Nations, student council, Scholars Bowl and Technology Student Association for four years. He has also taken part in track and Spanish Club for three years, Jazz Band for two years and National Honors Society, Math Club and Science Olympiad Club for one year. After graduation, Scott plans to attend Cornell University to study mechanical engineering.

Isabelle Holtzen

Isabelle is the daughter of Craig and Michelle Holtzen. She has participated in debate, basketball, cross country, track and Fellowship of Christian Athletes for four years. She has also taken part in choir for three years, National Honors Society and Model United Nations for two years and musical, Leo’s Club and Student Advisory Council for one year. After graduation, Isabelle plans to attend the University of Northern Iowa to major in business and will pole vault for the track team.

Grant Ryals and Haven Trageser-Turner

Grant Ryals

Grant is the son of Janelle Ryals and Jason and Michelle Ryals. He has participated in soccer for four years, student council for three years, National Honors Society and girls soccer manager for two years, and Leo’s Club and golf for one year. After graduation, Grant plans to attend William Jewell College to play soccer and major in biomedical engineering.

Haven Trageser-Turner

Haven is the daughter of Jeff and Katie Trageser and Courtney Turner. She has participate in FFA, student council and musical for four years, basketball and choir for three years, FCCLA for two years and softball, Leo’s Club and Spanish Club for one year. After graduation, Haven plans to attend the University of Kansas and major in nursing.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

LOU               10           19           16           6 – 51

ANDCO         4             6             4             8 – 22

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

LOUISBURG FALLS TO SPRING HILL, NO. 3 PIPER

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

LOU               13           4             12           11 – 40

SH                                                                        65

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

LOU               9             12           12           8 – 41

PIP                 19           16           26           11 – 72

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

Louisburg junior Brayden Gage glides to the basket for a layup during Thursday’s game at Spring Hill. Gage finished with eight points in the Wildcats’ 63-53 loss to the Broncos.

SPRING HILL – It is a game that will show up in the loss column, but for the Louisburg boys basketball team, Thursday’s contest with Spring Hill provided the Wildcats with several positives.

The Wildcats showed a competitive nature head coach Ty Pfannenstiel hadn’t seen for four quarters and that allowed them to stay close in a 63-53 loss. Although the defeat was disappointing, Pfannenstiel believes his team can build on it.

“I thought we played with a lot of intensity,” he said. “I think the kids really like competing against Spring Hill and they always seem to get up for them and I really noticed that in football. I could tell in our preparation that our guys really know those kids well, from playing on summer teams with them and stuff like that.

“I was pleased with the way we competed. It seemed we were ready to go for four quarters and we didn’t go through that one bad quarter, even though we started a little slow offensively. Defensively, we were ready to go. (Spring Hill) is a big team and they are very good. They are the No. 1 team in our sub-state for a reason.”

Spring Hill (9-4) jumped out to a 17-10 lead at the end of the first quarter, but the Wildcats stayed within striking distance in the second quarter. Louisburg (2-11) went on an 8-2 run to end the first half and cut the Broncos’ double digit lead to just seven at halftime.

The Wildcats used their defense to get back in the game as they had a pair of steal and scores from senior Ben Minster and junior Brayden Gage toward the end of the first half.

Louisburg senior Parker Perentis drives past a Spring Hill defender Thursday.

“Our defense always leads to our offense,” Pfannenstiel said. “We got some steals and it picks up our offensive play. We scored the ball a little better than we have been. We saw going in that Spring Hill had been playing a lot of zone and they didn’t play zone the entire night, so it was a different look than we were expecting. I was very pleased with the way we played.”

Although the Wildcats scored just seven points in the third quarter, they responded with a 22-point fourth quarter, but couldn’t overtake the Broncos.

Louisburg had to play without senior starter Dalton Ribordy for the second straight game as he sat out with an ankle injury. In his absence, the Wildcats got a big performance from senior Ben Minster.

Minster finished with a team-high 19 points to go along with eight rebounds. Gage and senior Desmond Doles each added eight points, while Gage had a team-high four assists.

The Wildcats will leave the road behind them for a week and return home for a pair of games beginning Tuesday when they host rival Paola. It will be Louisburg’s first home contest since Jan. 4.

“Our kids are ready for the stretch run,” Pfannenstiel said. “We are getting ready to play Paola and this is the first time we have seen them. After that, we are going to go back and play the rest of the league again. If we bring the same type of intensity we did (Thursday), and if we can get healthy and get Ribordy back, we can do some good things.”

LOU               10           14           7             22 – 53

SH                  17           14           12           20 – 63

LOUISBURG (2-11): Ben Minster 19, Brayden Gage 8, Desmond Doles 8, Justin Sievert 6, Dylan DeShazer 6, Parker Perentis 4, Kohl Vogel 2. Totals: 19-46 11-18 53. 3-point field goals: 4, (Gage, Doles, Minster, Sievert)

Louisburg junior Brayden Gage drives to the basket on Friday during the Wildcats’ consolation semifinal game against Harmon at the Baldwin Invitational Tournament. The Wildcats took seventh place Saturday with a 70-42 win over Bishop Ward. 

BALDWIN CITY – The Louisburg boys basketball team was staring a ninth straight loss in the face Saturday when it faced off with Bishop Ward.

If the Wildcats wanted to break the streak, they were going to have to do it without senior starter Dalton Ribordy. who had to sit out with an injury. Louisburg held a slim 3-point lead at halftime against Ward in the seventh-place game of the Baldwin Invitational.

Louisburg had a tough time getting in any kind of rhythm offensively. So in the second half, the Wildcats let their defense do the work.

The Wildcats turned over Bishop Ward several times in the final two quarters and turned that into instant offense in their 70-42 win over the Cyclones, and broke their long losing streak in the process.

“Our defense was better in the second half, no doubt,” Louisburg coach Ty Pfannenstiel said. “Ward didn’t shoot the ball well in the second half and we were very good on the defensive glass. A lot of that had to do with our triangle-and-2 look we threw at them. We did a good job of getting buckets in transition and then when we got into a half court set, we were patient and worked the ball inside. I was pleased with the way we played in the second half.”

With Ribordy out of the lineup, Pfannenstiel was looking for someone else to replace that void and he found it in Ben Minster. The Louisburg senior was all over the floor for the Wildcats as he finished with a game-high 24 points.

Along with his scoring punch, Minster also did it on the glass with a team-high six rebounds and on the defensive end with team-best six steals.

“Dalton is one of our leaders, so not having him out there was a concern,” Pfannenstiel said. “He’s our best rebounder and low post defender so we had to have some other guys step up for us. Ben played with a lot of energy and provided a spark offensively and defensively. He played with a different energy this week. He was aggressive on both ends and kept attacking. He’s an explosive player and needs to continue to play with that mentality from here on out.”

Louisburg (2-10) held a 25-22 halftime lead over Bishop Ward, but Pfannenstiel wanted to change things up in order to spark his team. He decided to employ a triangle-and-2 defense in hopes of confusing Ward.

It seemed to work.

The Wildcats forced 28 Bishop Ward turnovers and scored 23 points off those Cyclone mistakes, which gave them the spark they were looking for. Louisburg recorded 18 steals and were able to score 17 points in transition.

Senior Dalton Ribordy goes up for two of his 12 points Friday against Harmon.

They were also able to hold Bishop Ward leading scorer Clarence Johnson in check in the second half. Johnson, who scored a team-high 16 points, scored most of those in the first half.

“Our defense did a good job of executing in the second half,” Pfannenstiel said. “We went some triangle-and-2 to try and get them out of an offensive rhythm. We did a great job of keeping the ball out of the hands of No. 4 (Johnson). He was a really good player and we were able to make him work harder in the second half.”

Senior starter Desmond Doles gave the Wildcats a big boost himself as he scored in double figures with 12 points and four steals on defense. Junior Kohl Vogel scored nine points and had five rebounds to go along with four steals.

Junior Dylan DeShazer added eight points and five rebounds, while sophomore Madden Rutherford finished with six points and five boards. Senior Parker Perentis added three steals on defense.

“It’s taken us awhile, but I think we are finally playing to our strengths as a team,” Pfannenstiel said. “We have to continue to focus on the things that we do well and capitalize on those moments in games.”

Louisburg returns to action Thursday when it travels to Spring Hill in hopes of getting its second straight win. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

LOU               11           14           25           20 – 70

BW                10           12           11           9 – 42

LOUISBURG (2-10): Ben Minster 24, Desmond Doles 12, Kohl Vogel 9, Dylan DeShazer 8, Madden Rutherford 6, Parker Perentis 4, Justin Sievert 4, Noah Hill 2, Michael Waldron 1. Totals: 25-54 18-32 70. 3-point field goals: 2, (Perentis, Minster)

Louisburg falls to Bonner Springs, Harmon to open tournament

Louisburg had a difficult first-round matchup in the Baldwin Invitational on Wednesday when it faced off with Bonner Springs, the state’s No. 3-ranked team in Class 4A-Division I.

The Wildcats fell to the Braves 75-43, but had a chance to rebound in the consolation semifinals Friday against Harmon. Despite a furious fourth quarter rally, the Wildcats came up short, 64-56.

Against Harmon, the Wildcats trailed by 18 points early in the fourth quarter, but they eventually whittled the lead. Louisburg went on a 17-0 run to cut the lead to one, but couldn’t get over the hump.

Louisburg used full-court pressure to speed up Harmon and those turned into turnovers and easy baskets for the Wildcats.

“We played with a different intensity in the fourth quarter,” Pfannenstiel said. “Our kids have to realize that when we play with that type of intensity and focus, we can be pretty good.”

Ben Minster led Louisburg in scoring with 20 points and Dalton Ribordy added 12 in the loss. Ribordy had to leave the game in the second half with an ankle injury and didn’t return.

Junior guard Brayden Gage finished with nine points and three assists, while Desmond Doles brought down six rebounds. Doles also led Louisburg in scoring with 13 points in the loss to Bonner Springs.

LOU               15           4             12           25 – 56

HAR               14           12           20           18 – 64

LOUISBURG: Ben Minster 20, Dalton Ribordy 12, Brayden Gage 9, Justin Sievert 6, Dylan DeShazer 5, Madden Rutherford 2, Desmond Doles 2. Totals: 23-52 9-17 56. 3-point field goals: 1, (DeShazer)

LOU               8             15           13           7 – 43

BOSP             20           18           24           13 – 75

LOUISBURG: Desmond Doles 13, Ben Minster 11, Dylan DeShazer 7, Dalton Ribordy 4, Brayden Gage 3, Justin Sievert 3, Madden Rutherford 2. Totals: 15-40 12-19 43. 3-point field goals: 1, (DeShazer)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

LOU               9             12           12           4 – 37

SH                  18           18           13           21 – 70

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

LOU               9             7             11           13 – 40

DES                15           16           10           13 – 54

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

Louisburg junior Dylan DeShazer stretches out for a rebound Friday at De Soto High School. De Soto connected on seven first half 3-pointers on its way to a 65-48 win over the Wildcats.

DE SOTO – It became apparent early on that there wasn’t much that Louisburg could do to stop De Soto offensively.

De Soto connected on seven 3-pointers in the first half alone, and Louisburg couldn’t keep up in a 65-48 loss Friday at De Soto High School. It marked another loss on the Wildcats’ resume, but it was the best offensive performance Louisburg has gone against in its first nine games.

“They can really shoot it,” Louisburg coach Ty Pfannenstiel said of De Soto. “Their guards are really good and we knew that coming in. This time they were hot and that is a good basketball team we just played. They move without the basketball very well, they are very unselfish and very patient. It is all good qualities you want to see in a team and we can learn from that. I am trying to gain some of those characteristics that they have. They had a very good shooting night though.”

On the night, De Soto finished with nine 3-pointers and shot 43 percent from the field, compared to just 33 percent for Louisburg. The Wildcats struggled to get much going offensively, but were able to slow down De Soto for a few minute stretch in the second half.

The two teams were basically even on the scoreboard in the second half, but Louisburg couldn’t overcome De Soto’s 35-19 lead at halftime.

“We went a little zone, and that slowed them down at least a little bit for a few possessions, and then they figured it out,” Pfannenstiel said. “The problems with zones, especially with a team like us that doesn’t play it very much, is you can kind of get lethargic. A team that can shoot the ball like that, it doesn’t really matter if you go man or zone.”

Louisburg had a pair of players score in double figures as senior Ben Minster led the way with 11 points and fellow senior Justin Sievert added 10 points and a team-high seven rebounds.

Sophomore Madden Rutherford drives around a De Soto player toward the basket Friday in De Soto.

Senior Desmond Doles finished with nine points in the loss, while junior Brayden Gage and senior Dalton Ribordy each scored six. Ribordy also pulled down six rebounds.

“We were better offensively in the second half and started working the ball inside more, but we have to find a way to get the ball into the basket,” Pfannenstiel said. “I think a lot of that is sharing the ball more. I think sometimes we try to do a little too much 1-on-1 stuff and we could get easier looks at the basket if we do a better job of cutting and moving without the basketball.”

Although Louisburg was never within striking distance of a win, Pfannenstiel was still able to learn some things about his team.

“It was a good environment,” he said. “A couple of our guys got knocked around a little bit and that kind of sparked our guys. But it shouldn’t take us getting run over to spark that warrior mentality that it takes to compete every possession. I did see that we do have that side of us, which is good, but we have to do that every single possession. That is what it is going to take in this league because everyone in this league is good.”

The Wildcats will try and get on the winning track this week when they take part in the Baldwin Invitational Tournament beginning on Tuesday. Louisburg, which is the No. 7 seed, will face No. 2 Bonner Springs at 7 p.m., Tuesday.

The Wildcats will play again Friday and Saturday with times to be announced.

LOU               9             10           11           18 – 48

DES                19           16           15           15 – 65

LOUISBURG (1-8): Ben Minster 11, Justin Sievert 10, Desmond Doles 9, Brayden Gage 6, Dalton Ribordy 6, Madden Rutherford 3, Noah Hill 2, Dylan DeShazer 1. Totals: 18-54 9-17 48. 3-point field goals: 3, (Sievert 2, Minster).

Louisburg junior Kohl Vogel puts up a 3-pointer late in the game Tuesday at Frontenac High School. The Wildcats came up short in a 60-47 loss to the Raiders.

FRONTENAC – Like most outings this season, the Louisburg boys basketball team got off to a great start offensively during Tuesday’s road contest in Frontenac.

And just like those other outings, the Wildcats had a tough time sustaining its momentum. Louisburg couldn’t stay with Frontenac thanks to a four-point third quarter in a 60-47 loss to the Raiders.

“Our guys are playing hard, but we have to place more of an emphasis on playing hard each and every possession,” Louisburg coach Ty Pfannenstiel said. “There were key times in the game where we got out hustled. Every possession is important, and that’s something we are learning and trying to build on.”

Louisburg (1-7) got out to a great start offensively in the first quarter as it took a 19-15 lead following a 3-pointer Justin Sievert. In the final 10 seconds of the frame, Frontenac scored four straight points to tie the game and used that momentum to build a 39-30 lead at halftime.

Frontenac shot 50 percent from the field for the game and knocked down seven 3-pointers on the night. The Raiders also forced 21 Louisburg turnovers and turned those into 24 points.

Senior Justin Sievert puts up a shot in the lane Tuesday at Frontenac.

Despite outscoring Frontenac in the fourth quarter, it wasn’t enough for the Wildcats as they managed just four points in the third quarter and trailed by as many as 17 points at one time.

Sievert and junior Dylan DeShazer led Louisburg in scoring with nine points each and DeShazer pulled down five rebounds.

Senior Ben Minster finished with eight points and had a team-high four steals, while junior Brayden Gage and senior Dalton Ribordy each tallied seven. Ribordy led Louisburg with seven rebounds on the night.

Louisburg will try and snap its five-game losing streak Friday when it travels to De Soto. Tipoff is set for approximately 7:30 p.m.

LOU               19           11           4             13 – 47

FRON            19           20           11           10 – 60

LOUISBURG (1-7): Justin Sievert 9, Dylan DeShazer 9, Ben Minster 8, Brayden Gage 7, Dalton Ribordy 7, Desmond Doles 6, Madden Rutherford 1. Totals: 18-41 7-12 47. 3-point field goals: 4, (Gage 2, Sievert, Ribordy).

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

LOU               19           16           15           14 – 64

FRON            13           13           10           20 – 56

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

Louisburg senior Desmond Doles drives to the basket Thursday during the Wildcats’ 54-52 home loss to Baldwin. Doles finished the game with eight points and three steals. 

The Louisburg boys basketball team couldn’t have asked for a better start in its first game back from the holidays.

The Wildcats were looking to snap a 3-game losing streak Thursday when they hosted Baldwin. They were well on their way to doing that as they scored 23 points in the first quarter and built a double-digit lead.

Everything was going as planned – that is until the second quarter.

Louisburg’s offense cooled off in the final three periods and Baldwin took advantage to pull out a 54-52 win over the Wildcats.

“It is tough because it is a home game and it would have been good for our guys to get a win just to show that we have made progress,” Louisburg coach Ty Pfannenstiel said. “I do feel that we are getting better and our guys could have used a win, but you don’t just get wins, you have to earn them. Baldwin just made more plays than us. I think we can build from this.

“I feel a lot more positive about this than maybe I have in some of our other games and I thought we fought hard for four quarters. We did some good things, especially coming off of break.”

Louisburg (1-6) used a 10-0 run to get going in the first quarter, thanks to baskets from five different players in Desmond Doles, Justin Sievert, Dylan DeShazer, Ben Minster and Brayden Gage. Ben Minster and Dalton Ribordy added a pair of baskets later and Louisburg had a 17-6 advantage.

Senior Ben Minster drives in for a layup Thursday against Baldwin.

The Wildcats were up by 10 to start the second quarter, but the Bulldogs whittled away at the Louisburg lead. Louisburg took a 31-26 advantage into halftime, but Baldwin jumped out to a 9-2 run to start the second half and eventually grabbed the lead midway through the third quarter.

Baldwin never relinquished it, but the Wildcats did make it interesting. Down by three with just over two minutes left in the contest, Minster stole a Baldwin pass and scored to cut the Bulldog lead to one.

Fouls became a problem for Louisburg in the fourth quarter, but in a different way. The Wildcats didn’t commit a team foul until under two minutes left in the game, which meant they had to foul Baldwin several times to get up to seven team fouls to put Baldwin on the free-throw line.

Louisburg got the ball back on a few different occasions to either tie the game or take the lead, but its shots couldn’t find the bottom of the net. Baldwin led by five with under three seconds left, when Sievert hit the Wildcats’ lone 3-pointer of the game to cut it to two, but Louisburg couldn’t get another opportunity.

“The second quarter was kind of tough because we gave them some life by not scoring for a while,” Pfannenstiel said. “We scored 23 in the first quarter and I said something about that to the guys in the huddle and I probably shouldn’t have because I think that jinxed us. Right after that, we struggled to score and gave them some momentum.

“(Baldwin) knocked down some shots and made a few more plays. We stress how important every possession is, offensively and defensively, because you never know. We lost by two points and if we just make a couple more plays that could have made a difference.”

Ribordy led Louisburg with 12 points to go along with three blocks, while Minster also scored in double figures with 10. Doles finished with eight points and a team-high three steals. DeShazer added a team-high six rebounds.

Louisburg will try and bounce back Tuesday when it travels to Frontenac. The Wildcats will hit the road again Friday when it goes to De Soto.

LOU               23           8             10           11 – 52

BAL                13           13           18           10 – 54

LOUISBURG (1-6): Dalton Ribordy 12, Ben Minster 10, Desmond Doles 8, Justin Sievert 7, Madden Rutherford 5, Dylan DeShazer 4, Brayden Gage 2, Kohl Vogel 2. Totals: 23-58 3-5 52. 3-point field goals: 1, (Sievert)