Louisburg junior Isabelle Holtzen goes up for two points during the Lady Cats’ 48-34 win over Ottawa on Friday at Louisburg High School. The Lady Cats won their third straight game and are now 9-7 on the season.

The Louisburg High School girls basketball team picked a good time of the season to go on a winning streak.

With only four games left in the regular season, the Lady Cats need every win they can get when it comes to the Frontier League and substate standings. Louisburg got another big win Friday when it hosted Ottawa and pulled away for a 48-34 win.

It was the third consecutive victory for the Lady Cats as they improved their record to 9-7 on the season and are now 6-2 in the Frontier League standings – currently in third place. Louisburg also has the second-best record in its substate.

“It was definitely big for substate and league standings,” Louisburg coach Shawn Lowry said. “Each one is important now with substate and the end of the season getting closer and closer. With four games left, these ones at home are important for us and we take a lot of pride in these.”

The Lady Cats took a lot of pride in their defense early as Louisburg held Ottawa without a field goal and forced nine turnovers in the first quarter. Louisburg turned Ottawa over 15 times in the first half and had 11 steals for the game.

Louisburg countered that with a strong offensive start as it outscored Ottawa 18-2 in the first quarter and maintained the lead in the next three frames.

“We wanted to something a little bit different defensively and the girls did a great job with it,” Lowry said. “They executed everything that we wanted to do and it was good to see. There were a few breakdowns on some help defense stuff, but for the most part they stuck with the game plan and played really great defensively.”

Senior Paige Buffington and sophomore Carson Buffington got the Lady Cats going early as Paige hit a pair of 3-pointers and a basket, while Carson scored six points as the two combined for 14 of the team’s 18 points in the first quarter.

Senior Paige Buffington rises up for a shot Friday against Ottawa.

The Lady Cats took a 29-14 lead into halftime, and although their lead was never threatened, cooled off a little offensively in the third quarter with just four points. Louisburg picked it up back up in the fourth and secured the 14-point win.

“It is tough to play with a big lead sometimes,” Lowry said. “We try to practice with a lot of intensity, so when we get into game situations then that will carry over. Still, there is probably a little bit of letdown and mental breakdown stuff when you have a lead like that. But if your starters don’t have that, then the players off the bench need to come on and pick them up and provide that intensity. That is a real positive about the rotation that we have right now.”

Senior Madisen Simpson was the lone Lady Cat to score in double figures with 11 points to go along with three steals, while senior Chloe Renner came off the bench to give Louisburg a spark with nine points, six rebounds and three assists.

Paige and Carson Buffington finished with eight points each, while Carson pulled down a team-high nine rebounds in the win. Senior Tayler Lancaster added seven points and a pair of steals.

Ottawa’s Ryen White scored 25 of her team’s 34 points.

Louisburg returns action Tuesday when it hosts No. 7 Baldwin and then will follow it up with a road game against Spring Hill on Friday.

LOU               18           11           4             15 – 48

OTT               2             12           6             14 – 34

LOUISBURG (9-7): Madisen Simpson 11, Chloe Renner 9, Paige Buffington 8, Carson Buffington 8, Tayler Lancaster 7, Kennia Hankinson 3, Isabelle Holtzen 2. Totals: 20 3-7 48. 3-point field goals: 5, (P. Buffington 2, Simpson, Lancaster, Hankinson)

Louisburg senior Sam Guetterman battles for a rebound with a pair of Ottawa players Friday at Louisburg High School. The Wildcats couldn’t slow down Ottawa as they fell 75-60.

There weren’t many teams that were going to slow down the Ottawa boys basketball squad Friday.

Louisburg gave it a try, but the Cyclones didn’t miss much — more specifically the duo of Isaac McCullough and Perry Carroll. The Ottawa teammates scored 26 points each as the Cyclones downed the Wildcats 75-60 at Louisburg High School.

The Cyclones shot 59 percent from the field and knocked down eight 3-pointers as the Wildcats tried several different things to climb back in the game.

“We did everything well that was in our game plan except blocking out and preventing offensive rebounds,” Louisburg coach Jason Nelson said. “I think we gave up five or six offensive rebounds and that is too much. It hurt us in the first half, but aside from that we contested their shots.

“We went through progressions offensively and did some good things there, but I have never seen anything like that in what Ottawa did. We answered as best we could, but on a night like that, not much more we could do.”

Louisburg’s T.J. Dover wins a jump ball Friday against Ottawa.

Senior Grant Harding did his best to try and keep the Wildcats (6-10) in it as he scored a season-high 31 points, including five 3-pointers. Harding shot well from the field as he made 8 of 17 attempts and was aggressive all night in attacking the Cyclone defense.

“Grant has been working really hard at his shot and we have all been waiting for it to come together and it did (against Ottawa),” Nelson said. “We have all seen what kind of shooter Grant is, but the biggest blessing with him not shooting as well as he wants is it has taught him to attack the rim more. Once his shots starts falling more, it will really make him difficult to stop”

Defense didn’t factor much into the first quarter as the two teams pushed the ball up the floor. Ottawa, which had a three-point lead midway through the first, went on a mini 7-0 run, to push the lead to 10.

Senior Sam Guetterman hit a 3-pointer and junior Desmond Doles cut the Cyclone lead in half, but Ottawa went on a another 7-1 run to end the quarter and the Wildcats wouldn’t get the lead to under 10 again.

Guetterman was second on the team in scoring with seven points and five rebounds, while senior T.J. Dover had six points and a team-high six rebounds. Senior Dalton Stone also finished with six points.

Louisburg will try and snap its four-game losing streak Tuesday when it hosts Baldwin. The Wildcats have defeated the Bulldogs three times already this season.

LOU               18           15           13           14 – 60

OTT               28           20           16           11 – 75

LOUISBURG (6-10): Grant Harding 31, Sam Guetterman 7, T.J. Dover 6, Dalton Stone 5, Jayce Geiman 5, Dalton Ribordy 3, Desmond Doles 2. Totals: 20-46 13-17 60. 3-point field goals: 9, (Harding 5, Stone 2, Geiman, Guetterman)

Louisburg’s Emalee Overbay (34), Isabelle Holtzen (30) and Kennia Hankinson leap off the bench in excitement after Tayler Lancaster hit the game-tying 3-pointer in the fourth quarter Monday against De Soto at Louisburg High School.

Carson Buffington stepped to the free-throw line seven times in what was the most crucial time of the game.

Free throws aren’t exactly Buffington’s forte — as she will be the first to tell you. Still, that didn’t stop the Louisburg sophomore from knocking down six of those seven attempts in overtime as she helped the Lady Cats to a 66-62 win Monday over De Soto at Louisburg High School.

“I am usually not confident when I shoot my free throws,” Buffington said. “But I just told myself I was going to make them for the team.”

Buffington wasn’t the only Lady Cat to come through in pressure-packed situations. Guards Isabelle Holtzen and Tayler Lancaster each hit 3-pointers at the end of the third and fourth quarters, respectively, that either helped bring Louisburg back from a deficit or tie the game.

Chloe Renner, Emalee Overbay, Haley Cain and Buffington battled a trio of De Soto 6-footers on the glass and came up with several big rebounds in the fourth quarter and overtime. Guards Madisen Simpson, Paige Buffington and Kennia Hankinson all hit key shots or free throws throughout the game.

“It was a great win,” Louisburg coach Shawn Lowry said. “We talk about defending this place because of how hard we work here and these girls refused to give up on their home floor. It was a big league game and another one for us to grow in.

“De Soto has probably three 6-footers in there and we were in there battling for rebounds and got some big offensive rebounds late in the game. That just shows how we play, and we are going to play our tails off. It was a great team win.”

Chloe Renner drives the lane during Monday’s overtime win against De Soto.

For a while, a victory was in doubt as De Soto started the third quarter on a 12-0 run after Louisburg had taken a two-point lead at halftime. De Soto went up 40-31 late in the third before the Lady Cats went on a mini run of their own.

After a pair of Simpson free throws, Renner hit a basket and then as the buzzer sounded to end the third, Holtzen knocked down a 3-pointer that brought the Louisburg bench to its feet and the De Soto lead to two.

Lancaster opened the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer to give the Lady Cats a quick advantage, but it would change hands two more times before De Soto went on a 10-2 run to go up 52-45 with four minutes left in the game.

The Lady Cats (8-7) eased their way back into the game again after two free throws from Carson Buffington and a basket from Simpson with 1 minute and 40 seconds left in the contest to cut the De Soto lead to three.

That set up the heroics from Lancaster as she hit a 3-pointer with 50 seconds left that put the game into overtime.

“They were great shots and they didn’t hesitate,” Lowry said of the Holtzen and Lancaster 3-pointers. “There is no selfishness here and it is everyone doing their job and everyone playing their role when they are asked to. We had different kids step up tonight like Chloe and Haley who came off the bench and played great defense. Everyone really played a role in this.”

De Soto opened the overtime with a basket, but the Lady Cats were able to tie it and take the lead after Carson Buffington made a basket and was fouled. She made the free throw to convert the three-point play.

Carson would go on to convert four of her next five free throw opportunities, while Paige Buffington and Simpson also hit a pair of free throws to help give the Lady Cats the win.

During that time, the Lady Cats also got big rebounds from Carson Buffington and Renner, who gave Louisburg second chances at the basket.

Carson led the Lady Cats with a double-double as she recorded 16 points and 11 rebounds, to go along with an 8-for-9 performance from the free-throw line.

(From left) Emalee Overbay, Kennia Hankinson, Madisen Simpson, Tayler Lancaster, Carson Buffington and Paige Buffington were all smiles just after the final buzzer sounded in their 66-62 win.

“Carson cares about her team and cares about winning that game,” Lowry said. “She just stepped up there and nailed them, but it wasn’t for her, it was for her team. I am really happy for her though.”

In fact, the whole Louisburg team shot well from the free-throw line as the Lady Cats made 21 of their 24 attempts.

Simpson led the Lady Cats in scoring with 21 points, while Renner was second on the team with seven rebounds and had a team-high four assists.

The victory puts Louisburg in third place in the Frontier League with a 5-2 record, with its lone league losses coming to state-ranked Paola and Baldwin.

Louisburg will try and improve on that mark Friday when it hosts Ottawa. Tipoff is set for approximately 6 p.m.

LOU               12           14           12           14           14 – 66

DES                13           11           16           12           10 – 62

LOUISBURG (8-7): Madisen Simpson 21, Carson Buffington 16, Tayler Lancaster 8, Paige Buffington 6, Kennia Hankinson 6, Chloe Renner 4, Isabelle Holtzen 3, Haley Cain 2. Totals: 19 21-24 66. 3-point field goals: 7, (Simpson 2, Lancaster 2, Hankinson 2, Holtzen)

Louisburg senior Dalton Stone scores two points on a reverse layup Friday at Eudora High School. The Wildcats came up short in a 68-54 loss to the Cardinals.

EUDORA – Before Eudora’s Mitchell Ballock released a half-court heave at the buzzer, the damage was already done.

Ballock’s shot right before halftime found nothing but net and the Louisburg boys basketball team found itself down 17 points and had to go back into the locker room trying to figure out how to slow down the Creighton University commit.

The Wildcats couldn’t overcome what was a rough first half as they lost 68-54 to No. 2 Eudora as Ballock went off for 25 points, despite sitting out most of the fourth quarter and Louisburg suffered its third straight loss in the process.

Eudora jumped out to a 15-7 lead in the first quarter and Louisburg had to deal with foul trouble as starter Grant Harding was forced to sit with two fouls early in the contest. A 3-pointer from Jayce Geiman and a basket from Jake Hill cut the Eudora lead going into the start of the second quarter.

The Cardinals used a quick 7-0 run to go up double digits again, before the Wildcats were able to get the lead down to seven a couple baskets from Harding and a pair of free throws from Desmond Doles. Eudora once again answered as it went on a 13-3 run to end the first half, including the half-court shot from Ballock.

Eudora ballooned the lead to 23 points in the fourth quarter before Louisburg was able to chip away at the lead.

Geiman led Louisburg in scoring with 19 points, including three 3-pointers, while Harding finished with 10 and also had four steals. Senior Sam Guetterman nearly had a double-double with eight points and a team-high eight rebounds and senior T.J. Dover scored nine points.

Louisburg will try and get back on track Friday when it hosts No. 4 Ottawa. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

LOU               12           11           13           18 – 54

EUD               18           22           17           11 – 68

LOUISBURG (6-9): Jayce Geiman 19, Grant Harding 19, T.J. Dover 9, Sam Guetterman 8, Jake Hill 2, Desmond Doles 2, Dalton Stone 2, Dalton Ribordy 2. Totals: 19 13-20 54. 3-point field goals: 4, (Geiman 3, Guetterman)

Louisburg sophomore Carson Buffington dribbles down the floor on a fast break opportunity following one of her four steals Friday in Eudora. The Lady Cats put it altogether in the second half for a 57-33 win. 

EUDORA — For 16 minutes, the Louisburg High School girls basketball team had a tough time trying to work its way around Eudora’s zone defense.

The Lady Cats had just 16 points at halftime and they weren’t their usual scoring selves.

However, all it took was a couple tweaks and Louisburg got back on track in a 57-33 win Friday at Eudora High School. The Lady Cats turned up their defensive pressure, found a hole in the Cardinals’ zone defense and let the shots fly as they recorded nine 3-pointers on the night.

“Hats off to Eudora, they used a different zone than we are used to playing against and it had an odd front,” Louisburg coach Shawn Lowry said. “We had to make some adjustments at halftime and we were able to execute much better than the first half. Our defensive intensity wasn’t that great in the first half either, but we picked that up in the second half too.”

That spark on the defensive end led to a big third quarter offensively for the Lady Cats.

Louisburg (7-7) had a 26-22 lead late in the third, but the Lady Cats were physical under the basket getting offensive rebounds and forced several turnovers that started a 12-0 run to end the quarter. Carson Buffington, Haley Cain, Emalee Overbay and Chloe Renner provided big rebounds during that stretch.

Senior Tayler Lancaster led the charge as she picked the pocket of the Eudora guards, which created several chances in the open floor. Lancaster knocked down two 3-pointers during the run and fellow senior Madisen Simpson also nailed a shot from beyond-the-arc that came off a Lancaster steal.

Louisburg senior Tayler Lancaster goes up for two of her 13 points Friday in Eudora.

“Tayler has been good on the ball for us with her pressure,” Lowry said. “She has good hands and she did a nice job (Friday).

“That run we had was big, but it started with getting on the floor for loose balls and it started with toughness stuff that led into that. I think there was a scramble there that had multiple girls on the floor and it led into the run. Everything that is good for us starts with us giving really good effort and our intensity being really good on defense.”

Lancaster had eight of the team’s 15 steals to go along with 13 points and the Louisburg guard takes pride in stopping her opponent.

“Defense is my main focus and creating a lot of ball pressure so they have problems getting the ball into the post,” Lancaster said. “Defense is where it starts for me and the rest of the team.”

The Lady Cats kept the pressure on as they started the fourth quarter on an 11-3 run and never looked back.

Simpson led the Lady Cats in scoring with 18 points and also had seven rebounds from the guard spot. Louisburg did a lot of work on the glass and Buffington had a team-high 12 rebounds, while Cain and Overbay had eight and seven, respectively. Buffington was second on the team with four steals.

Friday gave the Lady Cats a big Frontier League road victory, and also stopped a short two-game losing streak, which included a loss to rival Paola last week. Despite some setbacks here and there, the Lady Cats are enjoying their season as they continue to make improvements off a year ago.

“We have a sisterly bond,” Lancaster said. “We just work together and we have fun doing it. Even with the losses, we tough it out together and that is how we win our games.”

Louisburg returns home this week as it hosts De Soto tonight in a makeup contest. Tipoff is set for approximately 7:30 p.m. The Lady Cats will also host Ottawa on Friday.

“We love defending our place, but getting these wins on the road are important to do,” Lowry said. “We have two tough games against De Soto and Ottawa at home so this win was a good one to get.”

LOU               9             7             22           19 – 57

EUD               5             3             14           11 – 33

LOUISBURG (7-7): Madisen Simpson 18, Tayler Lancaster 13, Chloe Renner 7, Kody Lowry 6, Carson Buffington 5, Emalee Overbay 3, Haley Cain 2, Isabelle Holtzen 2, Paige Buffington 1. Totals: 19 10-16 57. 3-point field goals: 9, (Simpson 4, Lancaster 3, Lowry 2)

Louisburg senior Jake Hill tries to back down a Paola defender during the Wildcats’ game Tuesday at Paola High School. Paola rallied for a 55-49 win over Louisburg.

PAOLA – The Louisburg High School boys basketball team was just minutes away from pulling off an upset of its league rival, and a possible future substate opponent, on the road.

A victory would have given the Wildcats an even bigger boost of confidence as they had already won three of their last four games going into Tuesday’s game at Paola High School. Unfortunately for Louisburg, the Wildcats will have to wait a little longer to try and knock off Paola.

The Panthers overcame a six-point deficit with four minutes left in the game to pull out a 55-49 win over Louisburg.

“The loss itself was disappointing, but the dedication to improvement our boys displayed that night and practice the next day was impressive,” Louisburg coach Jason Nelson said. “We’ve spoken of the necessity to maintain our game plan implementation for 32 minutes and we saw, first hand, what happens when we don’t execute. We went through a two-minute period where we didn’t execute at the defensive end and it cost us dearly.”

Louisburg (6-8) put together a 45-39 lead midway through the fourth quarter after 3-pointers from Jayce Geiman, Dalton Stone and a basket from Desmond Doles. Paola then called a timeout and the Panthers picked up their intensity.

Paola’s Dalton Rankin hit a 3-pointer to cut the lead in half, and then got a pair of baskets from Tanner Moala and Andrew Phillips to give them a 1-point lead with under three minutes left.

Wildcat senior Sam Guetterman hit a pair of free throws to put Louisburg up one again, but only for a short time.

Noah Bell responded with a 3-pointer to put Paola back on top by two points, then Louisburg senior T.J. Dover drove the lane for two points to tie it up with 1 minute and 16 seconds left.

Paola took the lead on pair of free throws by Brandon Wilkes, and then the Panthers got a Wildcat turnover, which turned into two points for Phillips and all but sealed the win for the home team.

The Wildcats were playing short-handed as they missed one of their post players in junior Dalton Ribordy, who was out with an illness. Nelson believes the team did what it could to pick up the slack, especially having to go up against a pair of 6-foot, 5-inch players in Moala and Matthew Wilson.

“Given our dramatic personnel rotation, we played really well,” Nelson said. “With Dalton out of the lineup, we’re significantly smaller, and knew we’d have to play some smalls on their bigs. Those who were tasked with playing against their bigs did a really good job.”

Senior Grant Harding led the Wildcats with a double-double as he recorded 10 points and 10 rebounds. Geiman also had a team-high 12 points, including four 3-pointers, while Dover finished with 10 points. Guetterman had eight points and six rebounds in the loss.

Bell led the Panthers with 13 points and Moala finished with 10 points and eight rebounds.

Louisburg will try to get back on the winning track, but the Wildcats face a tough test tonight on the road at No. 4 Eudora. The Wildcats played the Cardinals close for a half earlier this season and they hope to turn that into more this time around.

“We know that if and when we put 32 minutes of our style of basketball together we can play with most anybody and we’ve gotten progressively better,” Nelson said.

LOU             8             12           15           14 – 49

PAO             8             12           14           21 – 55

LOUISBURG (6-8): Jayce Geiman 12, Grant Harding 10, T.J. Dover 10, Sam Guetterman 8, Dalton Stone 6, Desmond Doles 2, Jake Hill 1. Totals: 19-46 7-11 49. 3-point field goals: 6, (Geiman 4, Stone 2)

Lady Cats fall to No. 8 Paola

PAOLA – At times, there wasn’t much the Louisburg girls basketball team could do Tuesday against Paola.

The Lady Cats played the type of defense they were looking for, but Paola always had an answer. The Panthers shot a high-percentage from the field as they took down Louisburg, 67-43.

“They are athletic,” Louisburg coach Shawn Lowry said of Paola. “I am not sure what their shooting percentage was, but it was good. It is not that we were playing off anywhere, they were just hitting some nice shots and hats off to them for that. It was a nice offensive performance.”

Louisburg senior Tayler Lancaster tries to dribble into the lane Tuesday in Paola.

Paola senior Matti Morgan lifted her team with a game-high 27 points as she was perfect from the field.

Morgan and the rest of the Panthers were tough to stop as they scored 41 first half points and the Lady Cats weren’t able to keep up. The two teams provided a back-and-forth first quarter as Paola took a 24-17 lead going into the second.

“We did ok,” Lowry said. “We have some things that we have to make some adjustments on and some fundamental things that we have been doing and we didn’t do this time. We had some breakdowns that happened that the players know about and we will get it fixed. I wasn’t disappointed at all with our toughness or effort. The kids give a lot.”

Louisburg (6-7) got a bulk of its scoring from a pair of seniors. Madisen Simpson led the Lady Cats with 22 points, including four 3-pointers, while Paige Buffington finished with 12.

Sophomore Carson Buffington finished with a team-high 11 rebounds.

The Lady Cats will try and snap mini two-game losing skid tonight when they travel to Eudora.

“That is what great about this time of year is you are in the meat of your schedule with Tuesday and Friday games,” Lowry said. “Now we just have to get ready for the game (today) and turn around play two more times next week. We just need to get some of our stuff fixed.”

LOU             17           8             10           8 – 43

PAO             24           17           17           9 – 67

LOUISBURG (6-7): Madisen Simpson 22, Paige Buffington 12, Chloe Renner 4, Kennia Hankinson 3, Carson Buffington 2. Totals: 14 9-16 43. 3-point field goals: 6, (Simpson 4, P. Buffington 2)

Louisburg senior Emalee Overbay drives the lane during the Lady Cats’ fifth-place game of the Top Gun Tournament on Saturday at Wellsville High School. The Lady Cats came up short in a 63-56 loss.

WELLSVILLE — For three quarters, the Louisburg girls basketball team was able to outscore Wellsville on Saturday during the fifth-place game of the Top Gun Tournament.

It was other quarter that had the Lady Cats digging out of a hole the entire contest.

Wellsville used a big first quarter to distance itself from the Lady Cats early and handed Louisburg a 63-56 loss at Wellsville High School.

The Eagles outscored Louisburg 20-2 in the first quarter and eventually built a 22-point lead early in the second quarter before the Lady Cats started to chip away at the lead.

“We let some different things distract us and we just weren’t mentality prepared starting the game,” Louisburg coach Shawn Lowry said. “We talk a lot about this process for us and this is definitely something we will learn from and be better next time.”

The Lady Cats (6-6) scored the first basket of the game on Madisen Simpson layup, but Wellsville would go on a 24-0 run to take the commanding lead. Louisburg, however, spent the last 22 minutes of the game cutting into the Eagle lead.

Louisburg nearly pulled off the improbable comeback as it cut the lead to four points midway through the fourth quarter on a basket from Paige Buffington.

“It would have been easy for many after that first quarter to check it in for the day but this group has a great deal of pride in the way they play together,” Lowry said. “Our seniors do a very good job of leading and battling when they’re faced with adversity.”

The Lady Cats faced a lot of adversity as it had to try to overcome a 22-point deficit on their opponent’s floor. Louisburg started by stopping the Wellsville run early in the second quarter and started to hit shots themselves.

Simpson and Buffington hit shots from the outside and each connected on three 3-pointers and the Lady Cats had seven for the day. Simpson led Louisburg in scoring with 20 points to go along with three assists and Buffington added 15 in the loss.

Louisburg also battled under the basket for loose balls and rebounds. Sophomore Carson Buffington finished with a game-high 17 rebounds to go along with eight points, while freshman Haley Cain came off the bench to add seven boards.

Madisen Simpson averaged 19 points a game for the tournament and earned a spot on the all-tournament team.

After the Lady Cats cut the lead to four points, it became a free throw shooting contest as the Eagles held the ball in the final four minutes of the game, forcing Louisburg to foul. Wellsville scored their final 11 points from the free-throw line and was 31 for 46 for the game compared to just 12 for 20 for Louisburg.

“It’s very important for us to continue and get better both individually and as a team each time we step on to the court, whether that be in practice or in a game,” Lowry said.  “All the players are committed to this and are playing with great effort, toughness and heart.”

Louisburg put together a strong tournament, especially offensively despite the 1-2 record.

The Lady Cats broke two tournament records, including the record for most 3-pointers in a game Thursday in the consolation semifinals against Anderson County. Louisburg made 14 3-pointers, which broke Ottawa’s old record of 12 in 2005.

Louisburg also set the record for most made 3-pointers by a team as they made 31 over the three game span. The Lady Cats broke the previous record of 25 set by Ottawa in 2005.

Individually, Simpson tied the tournament record for most made 3-pointers. She equaled Baldwin’s Kelsey Verheage’s mark of 12 in 2006 and 2007.

Along with her spot in tournament history, Simpson was also named to the all-tournament team as she averaged 19 points a game.

“Madisen continued her strong play last week in the tournament and we were all excited for her to be recognized for it,” Lowry said.

Louisburg will try and get back on the winning track, but it will be a challenge tonight as the Lady Cats travel to No. 8 Paola. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.

WEL              20           14           8             21 – 63

LOU               2             21           11           22 – 56

LOUISBURG (6-6): Madisen Simpson 20, Paige Buffington 15, Carson Buffington 8, Tayler Lancaster 5, Kennia Hankinson 5, Emalee Overbay 2, Chloe Renner 1. Totals: 17 12-20 56. 3-point field goals: 7, (Simpson 3, P. Buffington 3, Lancaster)

Louisburg senior Jayce Geiman tries to dribble past a Spring Hill defender Friday during the Wildcats’ homecoming game at Louisburg High School. Spring Hill used a big second half to beat Louisburg, 61-48.

In the first half, everything seemed right in the world of the Louisburg boys basketball team.

Shots were going in, the Wildcat defense forced some difficult shots and they were doing a good job on the glass. The second half proved to be more unlucky for the Wildcats.

The same shots that went in, didn’t go in the final two quarters and Spring Hill caught fire at the right time. That half turned into a 61-48 win for Spring Hill at Louisburg High School and the Wildcats saw their three-game winning streak come to an end.

“I think we just got a little cold,” Louisburg coach Jason Nelson said. “Defensively, we did what we needed to do. Offensively we got the looks we wanted, but they just weren’t falling. You are going to have a night or two like this during the season and that’s all it was — a night. We just weren’t quite as in sync as we usually are.”

Louisburg (6-7) had its way on the inside, especially in the first half. Junior Dalton Ribordy dominated the paint as he scored 12 of his 14 points in the first two quarters. Ribordy also pulled down a team-high 13 rebounds to record a double-double.

Spring Hill made it more difficult to get the ball inside in the second half and the Wildcats struggled to score from all over the floor.

“Dalton did a great job in there and he was difficult to stop in there at times,” Nelson said. “Even in the second half, he was still getting looks but they just didn’t go down. It is the way it went for everyone I think.”

The lead changed hands a few times in the first quarter, but Louisburg went on 8-2 run that ended on a steal and a dunk from Grant Harding to give Louisburg a 14-9 lead.

Louisburg senior Grant Harding rises up for a dunk Friday during the Wildcats’ game with Spring Hill.

Louisburg continued its run into the second quarter as it took a 20-13 advantage on a pair of baskets from Ribordy and another from senior T.J. Dover.

Spring Hill got right back in it as the Broncos put together a 10-2 spurt that gave them a quick 23-22 lead. Dover and Ribordy answered with back-to-back baskets to give Louisburg a three-point lead going into halftime.

The game remained close through much of the third quarter. Harding scored five consecutive points for Louisburg to give the Wildcats a 31-29 lead, and after Spring Hill took the lead back, Sam Guetterman answered with a 3-pointer to put Louisburg in front.

The Broncos, however, used another 10-2 run to end the third quarter to put them up 42-36 thanks to a pair of 3-pointers. Spring Hill ballooned its lead to 13 midway through the fourth quarter, and despite two 3-pointers from Jayce Geiman, the Wildcats could get no closer than seven the rest of the way.

“We knew it was going to be a grind,” Nelson said. “At that time, we were hitting the shots we needed to hit and we were confident. I think we tightened up a little bit in the second half when they hit those threes, but they have great shooters. Then we started hitting threes to get it closer, but we just couldn’t get closer. We were 13 for 20 in first half, but we just couldn’t keep in going in the second half.”

Louisburg will try and get back on the winning track tonight when it travels to Paola for another Frontier League contest. The two teams are scheduled to tip at approximately 7:30 p.m.

“Paola is Paola,” Nelson said. “I think the guys are going to be excited for the challenge. I think more than who we are playing, they are going to be excited to hopefully get this taste out of our mouth. This one loss doesn’t take away from the strides we have been making and hopefully we can keep getting better.”

LOU               14           12           10           12 – 48

SH                  10           13           19           19 – 61

LOUISBURG (6-7): Grant Harding 15, Dalton Ribordy 14, Sam Guetterman 7, Jayce Geiman 6, T.J. Dover 6. Totals: 22-51 1-6 48. 3-point field goals: 3, (Geiman 2, Guetterman)

Louisburg senior Chloe Renner passes off to a teammate after getting on the floor for a loose ball Thursday in the consolation semifinals of the Top Gun Tournament at Wellsville High School.

WELLSVILLE – Sophomore Carson Buffington can normally be found underneath the hoop, mixing it up for a rebound or a loose ball and getting the easy basket.

So when Buffington lined up for a 3-pointer during the consolation semifinal game of the Top Gun Tournament on Thursday, it looked a little out of place for some. Still, Buffington let the shot fly and knocked it down like she had done it all season.

The basket brought cheers from her bench and all coach Shawn Lowry could do was give a little smirk. It was that kind of night for the Lady Cats.

“I will say she has yellowish light, but she knows she can take that,” Lowry said. “She actually has a good shot from out there and she is starting to get more confident with it now. She is a pretty good shooter.”

Actually, a lot of the Louisburg team displayed that 3-point prowess against Anderson County as the Lady Cats set a tournament record for made 3-pointers in a game with a 63-25 blowout to advance to the fifth-place game on Saturday at Wellsville High School.

Louisburg nailed 14 3-pointers on the night as the Lady Cats put on their best shooting display of the season in what was an important bounce back game after losing to Spring Hill in the opening round of the tournament. The old record of 12 was set in 2005.

“When shots are falling like that, you know it is probably going to be a pretty good night,” Lowry said. “It started with our defense and our defensive intensity on the other end of the floor. Our intensity was really good and it was good coming off the bench, too.

“I challenged some of our players off the bench and they responded. Some of the players like Haley Cain, Kennia Hankinson, Isabelle Holtzen and Chloe Renner were really solid off the bench.”

Freshman Haley Cain works her way toward the basket against Anderson County on Thursday in Wellsville.

The 3-point shooting has been a big bonus for the Lady Cats as of late as they have made 34 shots from behind-the-arch in the last three games, including 10 each against Spring Hill in their previous two meetings.

Senior Madisen Simpson got it all started Thursday as she connected on five 3-pointers and scored a team-high 16 points and was one of three players to score in double figures. Hankinson, a sophomore, had three 3-pointers and finished with 11 points off the bench, while senior Tayler Lancaster had 10 points with two 3-pointers.

“When you set a tournament record, and there have been a lot of good teams in this tournament, that is a good thing for our girls,” Lowry said. “A lot of them contributed to that and we have been shooting the ball well lately, and this coming off the last two games where we have had 10 each.”

Paige Buffington had a pair of long shots, while Carson Buffington and junior Mikayla Quinn each had a trey to total the record-setting mark.

Defense got the Lady Cats (6-5) started as they frustrated Anderson County offensively and held the Bulldogs to no field goals in the first quarter, which led to a comfortable 39-12 lead at halftime.

Louisburg didn’t play like it had a big lead as it continued to pressure Anderson County and outscored the Bulldogs 15-7 in the third quarter before enforcing a running clock for the fourth.

The Lady Cats will face off with Wellsville for fifth place at 1:15 p.m. Saturday and they realize it is an important game.

“We wanted to get two wins out of this tournament and it started with Anderson County,” Lowry said. “This is our first step and Saturday we want to get that second win. It is going to be a tough one against a really good Wellsville team, but we will be ready.”

LOU               17           22           15           9 – 63

AC                  4             8             7             6 – 25

LOUISBURG (6-5): Madisen Simpson 16, Kennia Hankinson 11, Tayler Lancaster 10, Carson Buffington 8, Paige Buffington 6, Haley Cain 5, Mikayla Quinn 3, Isabelle Holtzen 2, Kody Lowry 2. Totals: 22 7-13 63. 3-point field goals: 14, (Simpson 5, Hankinson 3, P. Buffington 2, Lancaster 2, C. Buffington 1 Quinn 1)

Louisburg falls in close battle with Spring Hill

Just five days after the Louisburg girls basketball team earned an 11-point win over Spring Hill, the Lady Cats once again faced off with the Broncos — this time in the first round of the Top Gun Tournament.

The two teams found themselves in a back-and-forth match-up, but this time it was Spring Hill that came out on top.

Louisburg rallied from a double digit deficit to eventually take the lead late, but couldn’t hold on in a 59-57 loss.

Louisburg senior Paige Buffington drives the lane Tuesday against Spring Hill in Wellsville.

“That was a battle,” Louisburg coach Shawn Lowry said. “That first quarter we really came out flat, but we really battled back and showed a lot in that fourth quarter to come back and take the lead. It showed a lot about this group. It was a really good basketball game. It was one where, if you are not directly involved, it was a fun one to watch and take in.”

The Lady Cats found themselves down by 10 points in the third quarter only to storm back. Louisburg senior Tayler Lancaster led the Lady Cats as she knocked down three 3-pointers in the third, including one with 47 seconds left that banked off the glass.

Lancaster continued her hot-shooting early in the fourth and gave the Lady Cats the lead at 44-41. Spring Hill eventually took a 47-44 advantage, only to see Lancaster tie the game again with a 3-pointer with four minutes left.

“Tayler had a great game and hit some big baskets,” Lowry said. “It all starts with ball pressure with her and she did great in the game.”

Fellow senior Madisen Simpson knocked down a 3-pointer to give Louisburg a 52-48 advantage. Simpson and Paige Buffington knocked down free throws to give the Lady Cats a 55-51 lead with a minute left.

Spring Hill cut the deficit to two with 56 seconds remaining, then stole the ball and Lauren Delker scored to tie the game for the Broncos. The two teams would trade free throws, but Delker struck again with a basket with 3.8 seconds left to give the Broncos the win.

Simpson led Louisburg in scoring with 22 points, while Lancaster finished with 18, including her five 3-pointers. Spring Hill’s Meghan Goff led all scorers with 23 points and Delker added 12 in the win.

LOU               6             13           20           18 – 57

SH                  10           14           17           18 – 59

LOUISBURG: Madisen Simpson 22, Tayler Lancaster 18, Paige Buffington 7, Carson Buffington 6, Kennia Hankinson 3, Emalee Overbay 1. Totals: 14 19-28 57. 3-point field goals: 10, (Lancaster 5, Simpson 4, Hankinson 1)

Louisburg junior Dalton Ribordy draws some contact and scores a basket during Tuesday’s home contest against De Soto at Louisburg High School. The Wildcats captured their third-straight win with a 56-40 victory over De Soto.

On two different occasions, the Louisburg High School boys basketball team had a chance to let De Soto stay in the game or even take the lead.

Louisburg wasn’t about to let that happen.

The Wildcats used a big second and fourth quarters on both ends of the floor to pull away from De Soto for a 56-40 win Tuesday in Louisburg. In the process, the Wildcats recorded their third consecutive victory after they won the final two games of the Baldwin Invitational last week.

“The first half we just gave up too many offensive rebounds and putbacks and that kept it close,” Louisburg coach Jason Nelson said. “Our on-ball defense a few times wasn’t the best. It was a testament to those guys that they were able to fix those things. They are doing a good job of looking for each other on the court. Now we have to put together four quarters.”

De Soto trailed Louisburg 14-13 at the end of the first quarter, but the Wildcats turned the pressure up defensively in the second quarter and went on a 13-4 run to go up 27-17 at halftime.

Again, De Soto made another run in the third quarter as it scored on offensive rebounds and drives to the basket and cut the Louisburg lead in half.

Senior Sam Guetterman drives past a De Soto defender Tuesday in the Wildcats’ 16-point win.

In the fourth quarter, the Wildcats (6-6) made it a point to the get the ball inside to senior T.J. Dover and junior Dalton Ribordy and it worked. Louisburg ended the game on a 16-5 run that was spurred on by several baskets by the two Wildcat forwards.

“That is exactly what we need to do to be successful,” Nelson said. “We need to get the ball into Ribordy and T.J. and play inside-out. That frees up Jayce (Geiman), Grant (Harding), Sam (Guetterman) and everyone else on the perimeter to get open shots or drive it. We did a good job of that this time and it is something that we need to continue to do.”

Dover was one of three Wildcats players to score in double figures. He tied with Harding for a team-high 15 points and Geiman added 11, along with a pair of 3-pointers. Ribordy added six points, including a couple big baskets during the Wildcats’ fourth quarter run.

“We have been working hard on post entry and T.J. and Dalton are so athletic inside,” Nelson said. “If we can get the ball inside, then we can do some good things. We keep improving in that area and they are being more assertive down low and the guards are doing a better job looking for them.”

After a rough start to the season, the Wildcats’ three-game winning streak has brought their record back to .500 and they earned their second Frontier League win. Louisburg will now try to keep those winning ways going as it hosts Spring Hill at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

The game will follow homecoming ceremonies that had to be rescheduled from earlier this month.

“Our biggest attribute right now is our mentality,” Nelson said. “This is the second game in a row where we have played a good, scrappy team. Instead of letting them back into it and getting a lead, we pulled away instead and that is good to see. Hopefully we can keep playing well.”

LOU               14           13           13           16 – 56

DES                13           4             18           5 – 40

LOUISBURG (6-6): Grant Harding 15, T.J. Dover 15, Jayce Geiman 11, Dalton Ribordy 6, Sam Guetterman 4, Jake Hill 2, Desmond Doles 2, Dalton Stone 1. Totals: 21-41 12-18 56. 3-point field goals: 2, (Geiman 2)