Louisburg junior Jake Hill puts up a shot between two Spring Hill defenders Friday at Louisburg High School. The Wildcats fell to Spring Hill 58-32 after the Broncos hit eight 3-pointers on the night.

During its losing streak, the Louisburg boys basketball team hasn’t caught many breaks.

Through much of the last nine games, the Wildcats have been trying to put a complete game together. There have been close losses, but some have been lopsided in nature.

Unfortunately, it was the latter for the Wildcats on Friday against Spring Hill at Louisburg High School.

Spring Hill caught fire from the outside as it connected on eight 3-pointers on the night and ran away with a 58-32 victory over Louisburg.

“We rebounded well, we pushed the ball well, but we can’t let a couple of small bits of adversity take us out of our game plan,” Louisburg coach Jason Nelson said. “We made our first three shots to start the game, we are assertive, going through our offense and then we go through a little bit of adversity and it takes us out of what we practice all the time. I guess I need to do a better job of prepping them.”

Senior Alex Dunn dives on the floor for a loose ball with teammate Dalton Ribordy on Friday.

The Wildcats (6-12) had a good idea the Broncos shot well from the outside. Even when Louisburg defenders got hands in the face of the Spring Hill shooters, they still found the bottom of the net.

Spring Hill pulled away in the second quarter as it hit six 3-pointers in the frame and took a 35-15 lead into halftime.

“Those definitely hurt because they were making shots and guys were doing what they were supposed to be doing,” Nelson said. “We were closing out, there were a few instances where our help-side defense wasn’t there, and that was unacceptable, but I thought we did ok. Coming out in the second half, we were assertive and got the looks we want, which is 15 feet and in. They just didn’t fall.”

Louisburg actually jumped out to an early lead as it scored on its first three possessions of the game, including two baskets from junior Sam Guetterman. From there, the Broncos went on a 12-2 run to take a 14-8 lead.

Then came a tough second quarter and the third quarter didn’t get much better as Spring Hill scored 19 more points to all but seal the win.

Junior Jayce Geiman led the Wildcats in scoring with eight points and junior Grant Harding added seven in the loss. Spring Hill’s Ivan Hughes led all scorers with game-high 22 points.

The Wildcats will try and snap their nine-game losing streak tonight when they host De Soto. Louisburg defeated De Soto earlier in the season and it hopes to end its regular season home schedule on a good note.

It will also be senior night for Louisburg as it will honor seniors Jacob Welsh, Alex Dunn and Ben Brummel. Tipoff for the game is set for approximately 7:30 p.m.

 LOUISBURG               8             7             11           4 – 32

SPRING HILL               14           21           19           4 – 58

LOUISBURG (6-12): Jayce Geiman 3-7 0-0 8, Grant Harding 3-9 1-2 7, Jacob Welsh 2-5 2-2 6, Sam Guetterman 2-4 0-0 4, Alex Dunn 1-2 2-2 4, Dalton Ribordy 1-1 0-0 2, Jake Hill 0-2 1-2 1. Totals: 12-36 6-8 32. 3-point field goals: 2, (Geiman 2)

Louisburg junior Madisen Simpson puts up a shot in the lane during Friday’s home contest against Spring Hill. The Lady Cats rallied from 14 points down in the third quarter, but came up just short in a 49-44 loss.

For the first 24 minutes, things looked bleak for the Louisburg girls basketball team.

During Friday’s home contest against Spring Hill, the Lady Cats scored just 23 points through three quarters and were down 14 points going into the final eight minutes of the game.

Nothing foretold what was going to happen next.

Louisburg’s offense came to life in the final period as it scored 21 points in the frame and cut a double-digit deficit to just two with under two minutes remaining. Despite the furious comeback, the Lady Cats couldn’t quite get over the hump in the 49-44 loss.

Still, the comeback left a positive impression in the Louisburg locker room.

“This was probably one of our most unselfish efforts on offense and defense,” Louisburg coach Shawn Lowry said. “Everyone was doing their job and it was fun to watch.”

A lot of things came together in the fourth quarter for Louisburg. Defensively, the Lady Cats held the Broncos to just one field goal, and offensively they saw shots start to fall thanks to work on the offensive glass.

The Lady Cats (3-15) pulled down 15 offensive rebounds on the night, including several in the fourth. Freshman Carson Buffington led the Lady Cats with 15 total rebounds for the game and senior Megan Lemke added seven.

Louisburg junior Emalee Overbay stretches out for a rebound during Friday’s home game against Spring Hill.

Louisburg also shot well from the outside, which started the Lady Cats’ comeback. Junior Madisen Simpson hit two 3-pointers in the first three minutes of the quarter and sophomore Isabelle Holtzen also made key shots late in the game.

“We had some big boards,” Lowry said. “Carson having 15 rebounds and Megan had seven and all of those were big for us and keeping balls alive. Isabelle really made some key shots for us there toward the end. She has been struggling with her shot recently, so to see her hit those was great. She has worked a lot on that. Emalee (Overbay) also did some great things defensively and did a better job rebounding as well.”

Three minutes into the fourth quarter, the Lady Cats trimmed a 14-point deficit to six after Simpson’s two 3-pointers and a jumper from Holtzen.

Down eight points, Overbay went to the free-throw line for Louisburg and made the first. The second attempt rolled off, but Buffington pulled down the offensive rebound and Lemke hit a shot to make it 42-36, Spring Hill.

Holtzen hit another jumper at the 2 minute and 40 second mark, then Buffington followed with a putback with 1:47 left to cut it to two. The Lady Cats could get no closer as they sent the Broncos to the line and they converted free throws down the stretch.

Louisburg had to play from behind from the start as Spring Hill opened the game with a 12-3 run to take a 16-7 lead after the first quarter. The Lady Cats were able to stay with the Broncos for the final three quarters, which set up the fourth quarter comeback.

“After the first quarter, I think we were able to settle down and figure some things out defensively,” Lowry said. “We talked a lot more and we were helping each other out in getting people where they were supposed to be. Once they did that, they started to click. It was good to see.”

Simpson led the Lady Cats in scoring with 13 points, including three 3-pointers. Lemke was next with nine points to go along with her seven rebounds and Holtzen finished with eight.

Louisburg will play in its final regular season home game Tuesday when it hosts De Soto. The Lady Cats will also honor seniors Megan Lemke and Megan Roy during senior night ceremonies.

Tipoff for the game is set for 6 p.m., and Lowry hopes his team can show the same kind of fight to finish out the year.

“That is what this group is – they don’t ever quit,” Lowry said. “They are going to keep playing and battling. Especially at this point in the season, games are getting fewer and they are going to make it count.”

LOUISBURG                7             10           6             21 – 44

SPRING HILL               16           13           8             12 – 49

LOUISBURG (3-15): Madisen Simpson 4-16 2-2 13; Megan Lemke 3-8 2-2 9; Isabelle Holtzen 4-11 0-0 8; Emalee Overbay 2-7 2-6 6; Carson Buffington 1-6 2-3 4; Paige Buffington 1-4 2-2 4. Totals: 15-59 8-15 44. 3-point field goals: 4, (Simpson 3, Lemke)

Louisburg junior Jayce Geiman passes the ball off to teammate Korbin Hankinson during Tuesday’s league game against Baldwin. Geiman finished with a game-high 18 points, including six 3-pointers in the 60-59 loss.

With six seconds left and time ticking away, Grant Harding drove the lane, rose up for a shot and let it go.

If it goes in, Louisburg completes a comeback to beat Baldwin and snaps a seven-game losing skid in the process.

“I thought it was going in,” Louisburg coach Jason Nelson said. “Whenever any of the guys put up a shot, I always think it is going in.”

Instead, Harding’s shot bounced off the rim as time expired and the Wildcats suffered a 60-59 loss to Baldwin on Tuesday at Louisburg High School. The loss made it tough for a lot of the players and coaches as they still continue to search for the elusive win to stop the streak.

“The perseverance thing is the key for all of us for when we are going to get out of this tailspin,” Nelson said. “We are so close in putting everything together. I would put these kids up against anyone in the world in practice as far as effort. We know what we need to fix, but it is about me getting everyone on the same page and driving it home.”

The Wildcats (6-11) shot well from the field as they hit on 54 percent of their shots, but the problem was Baldwin did as well. The Bulldogs connected on 10 3-pointers and held the lead from a minute left in the first quarter to the 1 minute and 42 second mark of the fourth quarter.

Louisburg was constantly trying to play catch up as it found itself down 10 points going into the fourth quarter and the Wildcats trailed by eight points with just under three minutes left in the game.

Korbin Hankinson goes up for a shot Tuesday against Baldwin at Louisburg High School.

Junior Jayce Geiman kept the game close as he put together one of his best shooting performances of the season. Geiman made six 3-pointers, including one that gave the Wildcats the lead late, and scored a team-high 18 points.

The Wildcats also had some success underneath the basket. Forward T.J. Dover added 14 points in the loss and had a team-high six rebounds. Harding finished with 13 points

“Jayce was fantastic,” Nelson said. “He had a couple good takes in the first half and two of them I thought he got fouled on. His shots were coming off free and easy. We don’t mind good 3’s. We talk about bad 3’s a lot about being one pass and shoot, or dribble down and just shoot.

“When Jayce got hot, we were going through progressions, T.J. and Dalton (Ribordy) got touches inside and we were working inside-out. That left a lot of open looks for Jayce and Grant. Those two can bury open shots.”

Those two players did that late in the fourth quarter to help get the Wildcats back in the game. With 2:47 left, and Louisburg down by eight, Harding hit back-to-back 3-pointers in a span of 20 seconds to cut the Baldwin lead to two.

Geiman put Louisburg in front with a 3-pointer of his own with 1:42 left and gave the Wildcats their first lead in three quarters. Baldwin took the lead back on a basket with 45 seconds left.

Dover hit a jumper to put the Wildcats up one with 17 seconds remaining, but Baldwin drove the ball down the floor and was fouled with 11 seconds left. Baldwin’s Austin Ward hit both free throws, which set up one final opportunity for Louisburg with six seconds remaining and Harding with the ball at the top of the key.

“We were coming to set a screen and T.J. was going to slide down from the block and Jayce was going to slide to the corner so that gave us three different options,” Nelson said. “There was six seconds left so that was enough time to get something. I always think it is going in with these kids, but it just didn’t this time.”

Louisburg will get another chance to stop its losing streak Friday when it hosts Spring Hill. Tipoff is set for approximately 7:30 p.m.

LOUISBURG                10           14           15           20 – 59

BALDWIN                    16           13           20           11 – 60

LOUISBURG (6-11): Jayce Geiman 6-11 0-1 18; T.J. Dover 7-8 0-0 14; Grant Harding 5-13 1-4 13; Korbin Hankinson 3-5 0-0 6; Dalton Ribordy 2-3 0-0 4; Sam Guetterman 1-2 0-0 2; Alex Dunn 1-2 0-0 2. Totals: 25-46 1-5 59. 3-point field goals: 8, (Geiman 6, Harding 2)

Louisburg sophomore Isabelle Holtzen dribbles past a Baldwin defender during Tuesday’s contest at Louisburg High School. The Lady Cats fell to No. 5 ranked Baldwin 62-34.

The Louisburg girls basketball team knew Baldwin was one of the better teams in the state coming into Tuesday’s contest.

Baldwin didn’t do anything that changed the Lady Cats’ mind.

The Bulldogs, the No. 5 team in Class 4A Division II, showed why they had the high ranking as they defeated Louisburg 62-34 at Louisburg High School.

“They are a good team,” Louisburg coach Shawn Lowry said. “They have some really nice players, but they work really hard and give a lot of effort. It is hard to not watch them and like how they play the game. Hats off to (Baldwin coach) Bob (Martin) and those guys, they do a really nice job.”

Louisburg (3-14) had a tough time breaking Baldwin’s full-court press, and in turn, the Bulldogs were able to score several points off Lady Cat turnovers. Baldwin jumped out to a 13-3 lead after the first quarter and scored 24 points in the second to build a 37-12 halftime.

Baldwin was also able to connect from the outside as it hit eight 3-pointers on the night.

“We weren’t very strong with the ball and you have to give credit to Baldwin,” Lowry said. “They made some adjustments to their press since the first time that we played, so that flustered us early on a little.”

The Lady Cats offense was able to get going in the third quarter as they scored more points in the one frame than they did the entire first half. Louisburg put up 14 points in the third to finish out the game with some positives.

Junior Madisen Simpson led the Lady Cats in scoring with 12 points and sophomore Isabelle Holtzen added seven in the loss. Freshman forward Carson Buffington led Louisburg with 11 rebounds on the night to go along with six points.

Louisburg will try and get back on track Friday when it hosts Spring Hill in its next-to-last home game. Tipoff is set for approximately 6 p.m.

“We are going to keep working hard and come back to practice and work on some things,” Lowry said. “I need some of our leaders to step up and set the tone for the rest of this season, which they will do. I believe in these girls.”

LOUISBURG                3             9             14           8 – 34

BALDWIN                    13           24           17           8 – 62

LOUISBURG (3-14): Madisen Simpson 3-13 4-4 12; Isabelle Holtzen 2-3 1-2 7; Carson Buffington 3-5 0-2 6; Emalee Overbay 2-2 0-0 4; Julianne Finley 1-1 0-0 2; Bailey Kern 0-3 2-3 2; Paige Buffington 0-4 1-2 1. Totals: 12-38 7-11 34. 3-point field goals: 3, (Simpson 2, Holtzen)

Louisburg senior Alex Dunn tries to get a shot up despite the outstretched arms of an Ottawa defender Friday at Ottawa High School. The Wildcats fell to the Cyclones 50-33 to move to 6-10 on the season.

OTTAWA – Throughout its lengthy losing streak, the one thing the Louisburg boys basketball team has done was get off to good starts.

The Wildcats have put together solid first quarters, only to see the other team pull away later in the game. It was the exact opposite Friday in Ottawa.

Louisburg couldn’t cool off the Cyclones in the first quarter as Ottawa used a big run to pull away from the Wildcats in a 50-33 win. The loss was the seventh in a row for Louisburg.

“They were definitely on fire,” Louisburg coach Jason Nelson said of Ottawa. “We executed after that first three minutes or so. That first couple minutes, we knew was coming, and we dug our feet in to get back in it. We just couldn’t get the ball in the hole.”

The Cyclones opened the game on a 16-2 run and the Wildcats were not able to recover. Louisburg was able to keep the game within reach as it closed the gap to 10 points at the end of the quarter after a pair of baskets from senior Jacob Welsh.

Senior Ben Brummel goes up for a shot and gets fouled during Friday’s game in Ottawa.

Senior Alex Dunn cut the Ottawa lead to eight with a basket to start the second quarter, but the Cyclones went on a mini 7-0 run to push the lead back out and led 28-16 at halftime.

Although the Wildcats were able to settle the game down defensively, they couldn’t get the offense to match. Louisburg shot just 32 percent from the field and made only 7 of 24 free throw attempts.

The Wildcats (6-10) had plenty of chances as they were able to pull down 10 offensive rebounds for the contest, but their shots wouldn’t fall.

“The goals we established to get out of the rut was to outrebound them, like we always work on in practice,” Nelson said. “We can’t turn the ball over and we did a good job of handling their press and to push the ball offensively. When we did that we did OK. Those shooting numbers aren’t going to get it done. A lot of those were pretty solid looks.”

Ottawa opened the second half on a 12-2 run to push the lead to 20 and the Wildcats weren’t able to catch up.

Junior T.J. Dover led the Wildcats in scoring with nine points and Welsh was second on the team with eight. Guard Sam Guetterman led Louisburg with eight rebounds.

“We took a big step forward mentally,” Nelson said. “We always practice well, but we had a good week this week. Offensively we just have to get ours. We are really close, but it was just one of those nights. We have to find the hot hand.”

Louisburg will try and break its losing skid tonight when it hosts Baldwin. The Wildcats have defeated the Bulldogs twice this season. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. at Louisburg High School.

LOUISBURG                11           5             8             9 – 33

OTTAWA                     21           7             12           10 – 50

LOUISBURG (6-10): T.J. Dover 3-7 2-7 9; Jacob Welsh 4-6 0-3 8; Grant Harding 2-10 2-5 6; Jayce Geiman 1-4 0-0 3; Ben Brummel 1-1 1-3 3; Sam Guetterman 0-4 2-4 2; Alex Dunn 1-3 0-0 2. Totals: 12-37 7-24 33. 3-point field goals: 2, (Geiman, Dover)

Louisburg freshman Kennia Hankinson drives to the basket during Friday’s road contest in Ottawa. Hankinson led the Lady Cats with 16 points, but Louisburg fell to the Cyclones despite a season-high 54 points.

OTTAWA – It was the highest scoring output the Louisburg girls basketball team had posted all year.

The Lady Cats connected on 18 field goals Friday against Ottawa, including 12 3-pointers, which was 10 more points than it had scored all season. As impressive as those numbers were, Ottawa had the stat of the night.

The Cyclones converted on 26 of 35 free-throw attempts, which was good enough to get past Louisburg in a 64-54 victory as the Lady Cats nearly pulled off the road upset at Ottawa High School.

“It was a really good free-throw shooting night for them,” Louisburg coach Shawn Lowry said. “I can’t say anything about the officiating, but it is what it is. A lot of credit to Ottawa to step up and hit those free throws like that. We put them on the line, but they made them. It made it really tough for us to get back in the game.”

Ottawa hit a bulk of its free throws in the fourth quarter as Louisburg tried to make a run to get back in it. The Cyclones made 16 of 21 free throws in the final period, which all but sealed the win.

It was the Lady Cats’ long range game that kept them in it. The 12 3-pointers were a season-high for Louisburg and it helped them take a lead in the second quarter.

Freshman Kennia Hankinson opened the second with back-to-back 3-pointers, and after a pair of free throws from senior Megan Lemke and a 3-pointer from Paige Buffington, the Lady Cats had a 22-16 lead with five minutes left in the first half.

However, Ottawa would go on a 9-2 run to end the quarter and take a 25-24 advantage into halftime. Five of those nine points came from the free-throw line.

The Cyclones kept the momentum to start the third quarter as it built a double-digit lead. Junior Madisen Simpson kept the Lady Cats close as she scored all seven of the team’s point in the frame, but Ottawa took a 40-31 lead into the fourth.

Isabelle Holtzen rises up for a shot Friday during the Lady Cats’ league game in Ottawa.

The Lady Cats (3-13) made one final run at it as Hankinson and Simpson hit back-to-back 3-pointers to start the quarter and cut the Cyclone lead the lead to five. However, Ottawa went on an 8-0 run and Louisburg could get no closer.

“Scoring wise, I thought it was pretty good,” Lowry said. “They have some nice players and we had some breakdowns defensively. We also have some kids that aren’t 100 percent right now, and everyone is dealing with this, not just our team. I liked a lot of stuff that the girls did, though.”

Hankinson, who had missed several games with an illness, quickly regained her shooting form in her first game back. She connected on five 3-pointers and tied a team-high with 16 points to go along with six rebounds.

Simpson made four 3-pointers and also finished with 16 points for the Lady Cats. Lemke added nine points and seven rebounds, while freshman Carson Buffington had seven points and a team-high 10 rebounds.

“We had four days to prepare for this one and we got a lot of shooting in this week,” Lowry said. “I was glad to see the girls step up and hit those shots.”

Louisburg will have another tough test Tuesday when it hosts Baldwin, the No. 5 team in Class 4A, Division II, for its first of three consecutive home games. Tipoff is set for approximately 6 p.m.

LOUISBURG                11           13           7             23 – 54

OTTAWA                     14           11           15           24 – 64

LOUISBURG (3-13): Madisen Simpson 6-21 0-2 16; Kennia Hankinson 5-11 1-2 16; Megan Lemke 2-7 4-4 9; Carson Buffington 3-4 1-1 7; Paige Buffington 2-11 0-0 6. Totals: 18-59 6-9 54. 3-point field goals: 12, (Hankinson 5, Simpson 4, P. Buffington 2, Lemke)

Louisburg junior coaches (from left) Sienna Finch, Kenna Cooley, Jenna Cauthon and Megan Quinn pose with the Louisburg girls basketball team in the locker room Friday following their homecoming victory over Eudora.

In the life of a high school athlete, there never seems to be enough time to do everything.

After a full day of school, there is practice, then back home for dinner and homework – or in some cases it is off to a part-time job. Then you get up and start it all over again.

It is a vicious cycle.

But for the Louisburg High School girls basketball team, the players have given up some of that precious time to give back to the Louisburg community.

Whether it was a trip to a skilled nursing facility to help put up Christmas decorations or talking to a group of elementary school girls, the Lady Cat players and coaches want to make sure they are seen more than in just a gymnasium.

“What’s great about the kids in our program, school and community is that they genuinely care about helping others and take a great deal of pride in doing it together,” Louisburg coach Shawn Lowry said.

The Lady Cats’ most recent activity was on Feb. 2 when they met with the fourth-grade girls at Broadmoor Elementary School. Lowry asked his players to prepare presentations to give to the students.

Lady Cat players (from left) Megan Roy, Paige Buffington and Mikayla Quinn teach a group of fourth-graders the LHS fight song on Feb. 2 at Broadmoor Elementary School.

The presentations included what their game days are like and what it means to be a part of a team. Lowry wanted his players to tell the girls what playing basketball meant to them and what it was like to be a Lady Cat.

They also taught the fourth-graders the school fight song and signed autographs as the players handed out their own playing cards.

“It was such an eye opening day because I realized how badly I want to go back and do it all over again as a fourth grader looking to the future,” senior Megan Lemke said. “I loved visiting with them, answering their questions and giving them motivation to commit to basketball. I love the legacy Lady Cat basketball has built.”

The day wasn’t done as the players picked a student from each fourth-grade class to serve as a junior coach for last Friday’s homecoming game against Eudora. Jenna Cauthon, Sienna Finch, Kenna Cooley and Megan Quinn were selected to sit behind the bench during the game.

Life as a junior coach was a busy one as all four girls went into the locker room before the game and they stood with the team captains during the official’s meeting. They were then introduced before the game and stood in the team circle as the starters were announced.

As luck would have it, the junior coaches also got to go into the locker room following the contest and celebrate after the Lady Cats’ 27-25 win. The final step was to go out with Lowry for the post-game interview with the media.

“The best part was watching them come together as a team and get a win,” Quinn said.

“I really liked that they showed a lot of teamwork,” Cooley added.

Although everyone was happy about the win, the team will always remember the celebration in the locker room.

“Having the junior coaches with us was very special and I don’t think any of us will soon forget the smiles on their faces in our locker room after the game,” Lowry said.

“This was a really great experience for our girls and they had a blast doing it. I was impressed with how attentive and interactive the fourth-grade girls were and what a great job our girls did with them. This process also helped our girls better understand my comments about those young girls that watch them to see how they act because they want to be them when they get to high school.”

Speaking to elementary students was just one of a few different things the Lady Cats have done this past two months.

The LHS girls basketball team poses together after they helped decorate Louisburg Healthcare and Rehab for Christmas in December.

Around the holidays, the team made the trip to Louisburg Healthcare and Rehab to put up Christmas decorations and visit with residents. In January, the Lady Cats also helped run the Knights of Columbus Free Throw Contest.

“Giving back to the community brings us closer to each other and closer to the people who live in Louisburg,” Lemke said. “When we put up decorations at the nursing home we get to bond as teammates and visit with the residents. It makes us all grateful to be able to help.”

Although the Lady Cats didn’t realize it at the time, they would get rewarded for their efforts later. On Thursday, the team was informed that it was chosen as the KCTV5 and Hy-Vee Team of the Week.

The Kansas City television station taped the short award ceremony later that afternoon to the excitement of everyone on the team.

The LHS girls basketball team lets out a scream Thursday when they were presented with the Hy-Vee Team of the Week award.

It was quite the week for the Lady Cats. One that started talking with a gym full of fourth-grade girls, then received an award, picked up a big win Friday with the help of their four junior coaches and then watched as their teammate, Megan Roy, was crowned as homecoming queen.

Even if they didn’t get the team honor earlier in the week, the Lady Cats realized they have already been rewarded – and then some.

“I think it’s very important to give back because it shows that being a team player goes beyond the court,” Lemke said. “We get to apply our hard work and dedication by giving back to others. Then we get to share those memories together.”

Louisburg guard Jacob Welsh passes off to teammate Ben Minster under the basket during Friday’s homecoming game against Eudora. The Wildcats fell to Eudora 66-30.

The Louisburg boys basketball team tried to slow down the pace against a high-powered Eudora offense Friday, and early on, it seemed to work.

After the first quarter, however, it didn’t quite go as planned.

Louisburg, which trailed by six points at the end of the first quarter, allowed 29 second quarter points to the Cardinals and the Wildcats ended up with a 66-30 loss on homecoming. It was also the sixth loss in a row for Louisburg.

“Until we start doing things that we are supposed to do, things that we work on every day in practice, it is going to be like this,” Louisburg coach Jason Nelson said. “What we see in practice is different than what we see in games and that mentality has to carry over and it hasn’t for some reason.”

The Wildcats (6-9) made it difficult on the Cardinals early as they forced the ball inside on offense and were able to get to the free-throw line. In fact, Louisburg went to the line 12 times in the first quarter and found themselves in the bonus four minutes into the contest.

Louisburg junior Jayce Geiman goes up for a shot during Friday’s game against Eudora.

Although Louisburg didn’t have a field goal in the first quarter, it trailed only 14-8 going into the second period. However the lack of offense, seven turnovers and confident Eudora team made for a tough way to end the first half for the Wildcats

“They are such a good group of kids and they want to be good, but it is about sticking to the game plan,” Nelson said. “We talk about controlling the tempo and attacking. We did that. They had seven fouls and we were shooting free throws in the first quarter. We were slowing them down and that is what we wanted. For some reason, we deviated from it and it just kind of snowballed.”

Eudora hit four 3-pointers on consecutive possessions at one point during the second quarter, which led to a 13-0 run by the Cardinals that gave them a 43-16 halftime lead. It was a lead the Wildcats couldn’t overcome.

Junior Grant Harding led the Wildcats in scoring with eight points and junior Jayce Geiman finished with a team-high five rebounds in the loss.

“We have been focusing on getting the ball inside more and running an inside-out game,” Nelson said. “When we do it, and when we are assertive with it, it works well. When we deviate from that, it kind of spirals out of control. It is not physical because these kids work harder than any group of kids that I have had, but we have to keep doing what we know how to do and not get away from that.”

The Wildcats will try and stop their losing streak Friday when they travel to Ottawa. Tipoff is set for approximately 7:30 p.m.

LOUISBURG                8             8             7             7 – 30

EUDORA                      14           29           12           11 – 66

LOUISBURG (6-9): Grant Harding 3-9 1-2 8; Alex Dunn 2-2 2-2 6; T.J. Dover 1-4 4-6 6; Jacob Welsh 2-3 0-0 4; Jake Hill 1-2 1-2 3; Dalton Ribordy 0-0 2-2 2; Jayce Geiman 0-7 1-2 1. Totals: 9-33 11-16 30. 3-point field goals: 1, (Harding)

Louisburg freshman Carson Buffington gets on the floor for a loose ball Friday during the Lady Cats’ homecoming game against Eudora at Louisburg High School. Buffington pulled down a team-high 14 rebounds in the 27-25 win.

Homecoming week always presents its fair share of distractions for coaches and players alike.

For the Louisburg High School girls basketball team, however, most of those distractions turned out to be good ones. Whether it was teaching a group of fourth-graders, winning an award or supporting teammate Megan Roy for homecoming queen, it was a week full of positives.

Those positives continued Friday night as the Lady Cats ended a memorable few days with a 27-25 victory over Eudora at Louisburg High School. The win also provided the Lady Cats with their second win in a week.

“It has been a great week,” Louisburg coach Shawn Lowry said. “Just everything that the girls have done and gone through this week, and with it being homecoming, it was great to see them get a win. You could definitely tell it was homecoming this week with the way the game started out, but it is not always how you script it out to be. The girls played well, different girls stepped up and they are excited about the win.”

It was a rocky start for both teams, at least offensively. The two teams combined for six points in the first quarter and Louisburg took a two-point lead into the second.

In fact, the Lady Cats (3-12) held a two-point advantage for much of the contest and had the lead for all but one possession. Louisburg extended its lead on different occasions, but Eudora always narrowed the gap.

The Louisburg bench leaps into the air with excitement as the buzzer sounds in the Lady Cats’ 27-25 win over Eudora.

Louisburg played with a bend, but don’t break mentality.

“We stepped up defensively when we needed to and we took care of the ball when we needed to,” Lowry said. “That was good to see us close out a game like that.”

The Lady Cats opened the second quarter on an 8-2 run thanks to back-to-back 3-pointers from Madisen Simpson and Paige Buffington, and Carson Buffington added another basket to push the lead to 12-4.

Eudora went on a 6-0 run of its own to end the half and the Lady Cats took a 12-10 lead at halftime.

Paige Buffington began the second half with a 3-pointer, but the Cardinals went on another mini 5-0 run to tie the game. Simpson broke the tie with a 3-pointer and Megan Lemke added a basket to widen the lead out to four points.

In times when shots weren’t falling, the Lady Cats got a boost of energy from forward Carson Buffington. The Louisburg freshman racked up a lot of hustle points as she pulled down a team-high 14 rebounds and kept several possessions alive.

“It feels really good because we put a lot of hard work and effort into it and it feels awesome to get a win,” Carson said. “We came out in the second half and gave it our all. We really pushed and it worked out for us.”

Louisburg junior Emalee Overbay leaps for a rebound during Friday’s homecoming game against Eudora.

Lowry saw a lot of good things out of Carson, who has racked up double-digit rebound totals in nearly every game this season.

“I thought a spark for us was Carson,” Lowry said. “Some of the things that she does is just amazing. She got several offensive rebounds and that was all from effort. She just comes flying out of nowhere to get those and she has been doing that all year.”

The fourth quarter was much of the same as the two teams traded baskets before the Lady Cats held off a late charge from the Cardinals to seal the win.

Simpson and Paige Buffington led the Lady Cats in scoring with eight points each and Carson added five points in the win. Junior Emalee Overbay pulled down five rebounds, while sophomore Isabelle Holtzen had a team-high three steals to help the Lady Cat defense.

The victory capped off what was as busy week for the Lady Cats, one that included a special award. On Thursday, the Lady Cats were honored with the KCTV5, Hy-Vee Team of the Week Award.

“I have enjoyed this group as much as any other group I have been around because of how hard they work together,” Lowry said. “They do it in practice and then they come out and do it in the game. This week was really great because of the character of these kids and they do everything that is asked of them. Coaches only hope they can coach a group of girls like what I have. I am very proud of them.”

LOUISBURG                4             8             10           5 – 27

EUDORA                      2             8             8             7 – 25

LOUISBURG (3-12): Madisen Simpson 2-9 2-3 8; Paige Buffington 3-6 0-1 8; Carson Buffington 2-4 1-2 5; Megan Lemke 1-5 0-0 2; Isabelle Holtzen 1-7 0-0 2; Emalee Overbay 1-1 0-0 2. Totals: 10-34 3-6 27. 3-point field goals: 4, (Simpson 2, P. Buffington 2)

Wildcat junior Grant Harding passes the ball off to an open teammate during Louisburg’s home game with Paola on Tuesday at Louisburg High School. Harding finished with 19 points, but the Wildcats lost 65-39 to the No. 3 ranked Panthers.

For the first quarter, the Louisburg boys basketball team had it all going its way against No. 3 ranked Paola on Tuesday at Louisburg High School.

The Wildcats held a three-point lead going into the second quarter and the momentum on its home floor.

All that started to change – and quickly.

Paola went on a 16-2 run to start the second quarter and never looked back in a 65-39 victory over Louisburg. The Wildcats also lost their fifth in a row, but Louisburg coach Jason Nelson saw a lot of positives from his team.

“It was much better at times,” Nelson said. “We just played one of the top teams in the state, and if we would have played that way for the last week-and-a-half, we would be in a lot better spot than we are right now. We knew we couldn’t let them get hot and we did a good job contesting them in the first half, but they are a fantastic team.”

The Panthers won the battle underneath the basket as they had a decided advantage. Paola starters Mason McDow and Alex Wilson each stand at 6 feet, 7 inches, while reserve forward Tanner Moala stands at 6-5.

Louisburg junior Sam Guetterman pulls up for a jumper Tuesday during the Wildcats’s home game with Paola.

Louisburg tried different defenses to give Paola multiple looks, but in the end, the Panthers scored around the basket and got several second-chance opportunities.

“They are huge,” Nelson said. “We are smallish for the most part and I thought we handled it as best as we could. We couldn’t run zone for a prolonged period of time against them because they were going to find the weaknesses and exploit it. We were just trying to change up the zones and run some man defense mixed in.

“We were blocking out for the most part, and that is something we have been preaching in practice, but every single time that we didn’t – they exploited it.”

The Wildcats (6-8) got out to a fast start thanks to Grant Harding. The Louisburg junior scored 10 of his team-high 19 points in the first quarter and helped the Wildcats to a 13-7 lead.

Louisburg took a 15-12 lead into the second quarter, but Paola went on its 16-2 run to build an 11-point lead with four minutes left in the first half. Wildcat junior Sam Guetterman hit a pair of baskets to keep the deficit at single digits, but the Panthers went on a mini 7-2 run to take a 38-23 halftime lead.

Offensively, the Wildcats didn’t have enough left to rally from that big of a deficit. Louisburg managed just 16 second-half points.

Along with Harding’s 19 points and seven rebounds, junior T.J. Dover added eight points in the loss, while Guetterman added five rebounds.

The Wildcats will try and snap their losing streak tonight when they host Eudora for homecoming. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m., with the crowning of the king and queen set before the contest.

Nelson knows his team is going through a tough stretch at the moment, but he saw signs that they are starting to come around.

“Compared to where we have been it is a much better mentality,” Nelson said. “There are lots of things to work on obviously, and it is not going to get any easier with Eudora looming, but this game tested our moxie and we will see how we respond against Eudora.”

LOUISBURG                15           8             11           5 – 39

PAOLA                         12           26           14           13 – 65

LOUISBURG (6-8): Grant Harding 6-13 5-6 19; T.J. Dover 4-6 0-0 8; Sam Guetterman 2-5 1-2 5; Dalton Ribordy 2-2 1-3 5; Ben Minster 1-3 0-0 2. Totals: 15-38 7-11 39. 3-point field goals: 2, (Harding 2)