Summer camps at Louisburg High School aren’t too far away and here is some information if you are interested in signing up.

FOOTBALL

LHS football coach Kyle Littrell is holding his team camp on June 15 through 19 on the team’s practice field just outside the high school. The cost for the high school camp is $45 and includes insurance, a T-shirt and shorts.

Littrell will also conduct a middle school and elementary school camp. The seventh and eighth-grade camp will run from 10 a.m. to noon on June 15 through 18 and will cost $35. There will also be an elementary camp from 8:30 to 10 a.m. on June 15-17 for grades 3-6 and will cost $25. Both camp fees include a T-shirts.

For more information, contact Littrell at 837-1720 or littrellk@usd416.org.

BOYS BASKETBALL

Head boys basketball coach Jason Nelson is conducting his team camp from 2 to 4:30 p.m. on June 8 through 12 in the LHS gymnasium. The cost for the high school camp is $50 and includes a T-shirt.

Nelson will also hold a junior high and elementary school camp as well. The session for sixth through eighth-grade will run from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on June 8 through 11 and the cost is $45. The third through fifth-grade camp will run from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. on June 8 through 10 and is $40. Both camps include a T-shirt.

All three camps will have a heavy emphasis on fundamentals. The due date to sign up is May 23. For more information, contact Nelson at (913) 963-8421 or nelsonj@usd416.org.

VOLLEYBALL

LHS head volleyball coach Jessica Compliment will hold camps from fifth-grade on up through high school this July.

On July 13 through 17, Compliment will conduct the high school camp from 1 to 4 p.m. and the cost is $45. The seventh and eighth-grade camp will run from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on July 13 through 16 and costs $35. The fifth and sixth-grade session will go from 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. on July 13 through 15 and costs $30.

Deadline to sign-up for the camps is May 15 and all costs include a camp T-shirt. For more information, contact Compliment at (785) 766-3758 or complimentj@usd416.org.

WRESTLING

LHS head wrestling coach Bobby Bovaird will conduct a beginners and advanced camp on June 22 through June 25 in the LHS gymnasium

The beginners camp is for novice and youth wrestlers and will run from 5 to 7 p.m. each day. The minimum age is 6-years-old. Children who will be in kindergarten or first grade must have adult supervision.

The advanced camp will run from 7 to 9:15 p.m. for high school, middle school and experienced youth wrestlers. The cost for both camps is $35 and includes a T-shirt. Deadline to register is June 1.

For more information, contact Bovaird at (913) 424-0999 or bovairdr@usd416.org

GIRLS SOCCER

The LHS girls soccer program will prepare for its inaugural season this summer. Head coach Kyle Conley is holding a high school camp from 10 a.m. to noon on June 15 through 19 along with assistant coach Michael Pickman.

The cost for the camp is $40, which includes a T-shirt. Campers will need to bring shin-guards and a water bottle. Deadline to sign-up is May 15. For more information contact Conley at conleyk@usd416.org.

BOYS SOCCER

Head coach Ben York will be conducting his high school team camp on July 13 through 17. The cost for the camp is $50. For more information, contact York at benyork13@gmail.com.

The Harlem Wizards will be invading Louisburg in early May and they will be doing so in hopes for raising money for the Louisburg Elementary Parent-Teacher Organization.

Instead of the PTO’s normal CLASS Dinner & Auction they host every March, the organization decided to change things up and try to get the whole community involved. The Wizards will be taking on a group of community “all-star” players at 3 p.m. on May 3 at Louisburg High School.

The Wizards is a traveling basketball organization that creates fundraiser events for schools and nonprofits. Last season, playing in over 400 communities across the United States, the Wizards raised more than $2 million for schools, charities and nonprofits.

The event is being put together thanks to several local businesses, including Vohs Pharmacy, which is partnering with the LES PTO.

“This is the first time a fundraiser of this type has been done,” LES PTO co-president Amy Jo Jamison said. “We are very excited to bring the Harlem Wizards to the Louisburg area. We have received a ton of support from local businesses and all the Louisburg schools. Not only do we have a great group of Louisburg teachers/principals and local community members that have stepped up to play on our Louisburg All-Star Team, as well as our six LHS seniors, we have over 30 LES teachers/staff volunteering at the event too. The money we raise from this fundraiser will go directly to our elementary schools.”

Doors will open at 2 p,m., and the meet and greet that the Courtside Plus ticket holders get is at 2:15. Warm-ups start at 2:30 as several students have purchased jerseys to warm up with the Wizards, which was limited to 50 students. The game goes until 5 p.m., and the Wizards will also put on a halftime show.

Reserve and general admission tickets are still available. General admission tickets can be purchased at www.harlemwizards.com or reserved tickets can be purchased at the schools.

“It promises to be a fun-filled event that is great for kids and adults and will guarantee to put a smile on your face,” Jamison said. “Fans will witness amazing basketball talent combined with hilarious comedy.”

Those community members playing are: Broadmoor principal Chris McLean, Rockville principal Becky Bowes, Cindy Apple, Joel McGhee, Melanie Elliott, Melissa Gage, Megan Harris, Arianne Seidl, Jeff Lohse, Brian Keegan, Shava Vohs, Jeremy Holloway, Amy Goode, Mark Williams, Shelley Haines, Kevin Vohs, Ryan Dansel and USD 416 superintendent Dr. Brian Biermann.

Also participating are Louisburg High School seniors Brady Lambeth, Nathan Moore, Corbin Wertz, Kirstin Lowry, Natalie Moore and Kallie O’Keefe.

The teachers/principals/community members will play the first, second and fourth quarters, while the LHS seniors will play in the third.

Louisburg seniors (from left) Nathan Moore, Corbin Wertz and Brady Lambeth were honored, along with the rest of their teammates, during the Wildcats’ postseason basketball banquet Thursday at Louisburg High School.

It wasn’t an easy time for the Louisburg boys basketball team this season, but that didn’t mean the Wildcats didn’t have their successes and good memories.

Those were all shared Thursday during the team’s annual postseason banquet at Louisburg High School. Louisburg finished with a 6-15 record on the season, but head coach Jason Nelson knew his team was better than its overall mark.

“I think there was probably six games or so this year where we were leading in the fourth quarter and we ended up losing,” Nelson said. “Whether it was injuries or whatever, we just couldn’t win those games. As the year went on, we kept getting better and we won a couple of those games late in the year.”

Nelson pointed to the fact that his team had to play with a lot of youth on his side as the varsity roster featured up to seven sophomores and only three seniors. Corbin Wertz, Brady Lambeth and Nathan Moore provided that senior leadership throughout the season, while Wertz, the team’s leading scorer, was out a few weeks with an injury and others had to pick up the slack.

However, Nelson knows his three seniors are key for his program, even though their Wildcat playing days are over.

“They displayed to this group of underclassmen what it takes to lead and the kind of character you need to have,” Nelson said. “This senior group is so special to me and was one of the reasons I took the job a couple years ago. They did everything we asked of them and more. I will definitely miss them.”

Two Wildcats were recognized for their postseason accolades on the all-Frontier League team

Wertz earned second team all-league honors while sophomore Grant Harding found his way on the team for the first time as he was awarded an honorable mention spot.

Wertz averaged 17.2 points a game to go along with 6.3 rebounds and four assists. Harding averaged 11.1 points a game to go along with nine rebounds. He also averaged one block.

Nelson also announced his varsity letterwinners for the season. The winners are:

Seniors: Corbin Wertz, Nathan Moore and Brady Lambeth

Juniors: Mitchell McLellan and Jacob Welsh

Sophomores: T.J. Dover, Jayce Geiman, Sam Guetterman, Korbin Hankinson, Grant Harding and Jake Hill

Louisburg seniors (from left) Kallie O’Keefe, Natalie Moore and Kirstin Lowry were all smiles Wednesday during the team’s postseason awards banquet at Louisburg High School. All three players were recognized for their postseason honors

It was a bittersweet moment for the Louisburg girls basketball team Wednesday when it held its annual postseason banquet at Louisburg High School.

The team came together to relive some good memories from its 11-11 season and talk about the improvement the Lady Cats made from the start of the season till the end. However, it also meant saying goodbye to a few players.

Seniors Natalie Moore, Kirstin Lowry and Kallie O’Keefe were recognized for their achievements, not only this season, but for what they have accomplished in their four years. This season, the Lady Cats won their home invitational and advanced to the substate championship game for the second straight year.

“They have shown these younger kids what the expectations of this program are,” Louisburg coach Shawn Lowry said. “They have shown them how to lead, the character we expect and how to play. They will all three be missed.”

Coach Lowry revealed all of the postseason honors to his team, in which all of them went to the three seniors.

Moore was named first team all-Frontier League, was second team all-state in Class 4A by Sports I Kansas. She also received honorable mention all-state honors from The Wichita Eagle and The Topeka Capital-Journal.

She was also the Co-Player of the Year and first team on the Tri-County Spotlight squad. She finished her career with 898 points.

Moore averaged 17.4 points a game and also made a living at the free-throw line. Moore had 204 free-throw attempts on the season and made 73 percent.

She also averaged 5.5 rebounds a game to go along with 4.6 assists. She had 27 steals on the year and shot 44 percent from the floor.

Kirstin Lowry was also honored as she was a second team all-Frontier League and was also second team Tri-County Spotlight. Lowry was second on the team in scoring at nine points a game and shot better than 40 percent from behind the 3-point line.

O’Keefe, who averaged eight points and seven rebounds a game, also earned second team all-Tri County Spotlight.

Members of the Lady Cats who earned varsity letters are:

Seniors: Natalie Moore, Kirstin Lowry and Kallie O’Keefe

Juniors: Megan Lemke

Sophomores: Zoie Gilliland, Paige Buffington, Emalee Overbay and Madisen Simpson

Freshman: Isabelle Holtzen and Sarah Wilson

Louisburg senior Corbin Wertz was one of two Wildcats to be named to the all-Frontier League basketball team. Wertz earned second team honors after he averaged 17 points a game.

The talent in the Frontier League for boys basketball was at its usual high caliber this season and Louisburg found itself in the mix of it all.

Louisburg put two players from its six-win team on the squad. Senior Corbin Wertz earned second team all-league honors while sophomore Grant Harding found his way on the team for the first time as he was awarded an honorable mention spot.

“I felt our team was well represented granted the adversity we had with injury and the quality nature of our league,” Louisburg coach Jason Nelson said. “Any coach would want more representation or kids placing higher than they do, but that’s the nature of the job itself.”

Injury might have been the only thing that kept Wertz off the first-team in his final season as a Wildcat. He missed several games with a hamstring injury, but he had first-team type numbers for Louisburg.

Wertz averaged 17.2 points a game to go along with 6.3 rebounds and four assists a contest in a tough league schedule.

“For Corbin to receive second team, despite missing four league games to injury, is a testament to his ability and the respect he’s earned among the coaches around the league,” Nelson said. “He leaves behind a legacy that all younger players will benefit from, be it next year, or four years down the road.”

Louisburg sophomore Grant Harding was recently selected to the all-Frontier League basketball team as an honorable mention.

With Wertz out for part of the season, it was up to several sophomores to pick up the scoring load and Harding took on the challenge. Harding nearly averaged a double-double in his first full season on the varsity level.

Harding averaged 11.1 points a game to go along with nine rebounds. He also averaged one block a contest.

“For Grant to be recognized despite being only a sophomore is a great honor for him,” Nelson said. “He progressed in the manner his staff wanted throughout the year and deserved to be recognized.”

Underclassmen were littered all over the all-league team. The first team featured four underclassmen and one senior.

Eudora sophomore Mitchell Ballock headed the first team along with junior teammate Austin Downing. Paola junior Mason McDow, Ottawa sophomore Isaac McCullough and Ottawa senior Quentin Blaue rounded out the list.

Ottawa led the way with four all-league selections, while Eudora and Paola followed with three each.

2015 All-Frontier League Boys Basketball

First team

Austin Downing, Eudora, junior

Isaac McCullough, Ottawa, sophomore

Mason McDow, Paola, junior

Mitchell Ballock, Eudora, sophomore

Quentin Blaue, Ottawa, senior

Second team

Christian Gaylord, Baldwin, senior

Corbin Wertz, Louisburg, senior

Danny Hodge, Spring Hill, senior

Ivan Hughes, Spring Hill, junior

Justin Criddle, Paola, junior

Honorable mention

Alex Wilson, Paola, junior

Grant Harding, Louisburg, sophomore

Jake Matney, Ottawa, senior

Jomain Rouser, Eudora, junior

Nick Mullen, De Soto, senior

Tyler Smith, Ottawa, senior

Louisburg senior Natalie Moore was named to the all-Frontier League first team for the second year in a row. Moore was joined by teammate Kirstin Lowry, who earned second team honors.

According to the Frontier League coaches, the Louisburg girls basketball team has two of the best players in a league that featured to two state runner-up teams.

Louisburg senior Natalie Moore was one of the league’s top scorers and she was recognized for it. For the second year in a row, Moore was named to the all-league first team and was joined by one of her senior teammates.

Kirstin Lowry was named to the all-Frontier League second team as she was one of the top 3-point threats in the league. Lowry was an honorable mention a season ago.

“Natalie and Kirstin were really great leaders for our team in the offseason and during the season,” Louisburg coach Shawn Lowry said. “They always set the tone with how hard they worked and the positive, encouraging attitudes they brought every day.

“I think most coaches would always like more representation, particularly with players that may not fill up a stat sheet but are really good defensively or play unselfish. However, our league had an exceptional senior class this year.”

Louisburg senior Kirstin Lowry was recently selected to the all-Frontier League second team.

Baldwin, the Class 4A-Division II state runner-up, led the league with five selections. Paola, the Class 4A-Division I state runner-up, finished with four.

Joining Moore on the first team was Ottawa’s Corie Fischer, De Soto’s Megan Bonar, Paola’s Morgan Laudan and Baldwin’s Maddie Ogle.

Teams had a hard time keeping Moore, the Lady Cats’ point guard, out of the lane as she averaged 17.4 points a game and also made a living at the free-throw line. Moore had 204 free-throw attempts on the season and made 73 percent.

Moore also averaged 5.5 rebounds a game to go along with 4.6 assists. She also had 27 steals on the year and shot 44 percent from the floor.

“It’s hard to express just how good Natalie was this year in arguably one of the toughest leagues in a 4A class with so many exceptional players,” coach Lowry said. “This season was the culmination of so many years of hard work for Nat and we were very fortunate to get to share in this journey.”

Kirstin Lowry was second on the Lady Cats in scoring. She averaged nine points a game and shot over 40 percent from behind the 3-point line.

The Louisburg senior was one of the team’s better defenders and also had to the opportunity to have her dad as the head coach the last two seasons.

“Kirstin had a very good year shooting the ball from behind the 3-point line, but I’m most proud of her defensive effort and the passion she played with,” coach Lowry said.

“You’d be hard pressed to find one player that would want to have traded places with Kirstin all these years with me as her coach. I am amazed how she handled everything and I am so proud of the strong young lady she has grown into and the great values she has.”

ALL-FRONTIER LEAGUE GIRLS BASKETBALL

FIRST TEAM

Corie Fischer, Ottawa, senior

Megan Bonar, De Soto, senior

Morgan Laudan, Paola, junior

Natalie Moore, Louisburg, senior

Maddie Ogle, Baldwin, senior

SECOND TEAM

Brette Moore, Ottawa, senior

Tiana Moala, Paola, senior

Lyndsee Johnson, Paola, senior

Kirstin Lowry, Louisburg, senior

Tori Marshall, De Soto, senior

HONORABLE MENTION

Corey Valentine, Baldwin, senior

Madeline Neufeld, Baldwin, junior

Makaila Garcia, Eudora, senior

Taylor Williams, Paola, junior

Alexia Stein, Baldwin, senior

Kyna Smith, Baldwin, junior

Louisburg senior Corbin Wertz goes up for a basket Thursday during the semifinals of the Class 4A Division I substate tournament at Paola High School. The Wildcats fell 65-49 to Fort Scott.

PAOLA – For one half anyway, the Louisburg boys basketball team went toe-to-toe with No. 1 seed Fort Scott.

The second half was a different story.

Fort Scott found its stroke and used a big third quarter to eliminate Louisburg 65-49 on Thursday in the Class 4A Division I substate semifinals at Paola High School. The Wildcats ended their season with a 6-15 record.

“We played as well as we’ve played all year in the first half,” Louisburg coach Jason Nelson said. “We were hitting out shots, contesting theirs and limiting their second chance opportunities.

“In the second half, we weren’t hitting our shots as well as we had in the first half, and they went on a little spurt where they hit three contested 3-pointers. To further complicate matters, we had a little foul trouble and consequently our rotation was a little off defensively which led to us not being as aggressive on the boards.”

The two teams traded leads in the first half and Louisburg held a 20-18 advantage with under three minutes left in the second quarter. Fort Scott went on a mini 5-0 run before halftime to grab the lead back.

Louisburg senior Nathan Moore made it just a one-point halftime deficit when he hit a runner in the lane with five seconds left to give the Wildcats a little momentum.

Fort Scott didn’t waste much time in the third quarter as it went on a 13-4 run to start and the Wildcats all of a sudden found themselves down double digits four minutes into the second half.

Sophomore Jayce Geiman came off the bench to hit two 3-pointers late in the third and Louisburg trailed by 12 points going into the final quarter. It was as close as the Wildcats would get.

Fort Scott defeated Paola in the championship game Saturday to move on to the state tournament.

Senior Corbin Wertz led the Wildcats in scoring with 19 points and Moore, another senior, finished with eight. Wertz, Moore and senior Brady Lambeth all played their final game for the Wildcats.

“Corbin, Nathan and Brady exemplified this program for the two years I’ve been responsible for it,” Nelson said. “They worked to improve, imparted their knowledge on their younger teammates and always believed in the progress of our program. They will be missed tremendously but their legacy will be seen through the progress and effort of next years and the teams that follow.”

It was an up and down season for the Wildcats as they finished with six wins that could have turned into even more. However, Nelson saw a lot of progress from his team despite several obstacles put in its way.

“When the season started, if you’d have told anybody on our staff that we’d have a broken leg, broken toe and a severely pulled hamstring which led to six sophomores on our varsity roster we would have been mortified,” Nelson said. “Once this happened, it turned into one of the most enjoyable experiences of my professional career.  We had a young roster that grew leaps and bounds by being forced into an adverse situation and through the frustration, the yelling from the coaches, and uncertainty, each and every one of them improved dramatically.”

LOUISBURG                14           8             11           16 – 49

FORT SCOTT               15           8             22           20 – 65

LOUISBURG (6-15): Corbin Wertz 19; Nathan Moore 8; Grant Harding 7; Jayce Geiman 6; Brady Lambeth 5; T.J. Dover 2; Sam Guetterman 2. Totals: 20 6-8 49. 3-point field goals: 3, (Geiman 2, Lambeth)

Louisburg senior Kallie O’Keefe dives on the floor for a loose ball with Paola’s Morgan Laudan during the Class 4A Division I substate championship game Saturday at Paola High School. The Lady Cats fell 62-28.

PAOLA – The Louisburg girls basketball team had the tough task of trying to end undefeated Paola’s season on its home floor, in the substate finals, no less.

It was as difficult as it sounded for the Lady Cats as they couldn’t stay with the bigger, deeper Panther team. Louisburg fell 62-28 on Saturday in the Class 4A Division I substate championship game in Paola.

As much as the end of the season hurt, the Lady Cats also had to say goodbye to three senior starters. Natalie Moore, Kirstin Lowry and Kallie O’Keefe all suited up for Louisburg for the final time.

“They are hurting, there is no doubt about that,” Louisburg coach Shawn Lowry said. “I think that finality is starting to set in. Those three players have meant so much to this program. They all left it out on the floor, and they may be leaving, but they put so much into the program that the returning players can learn from for years to come.”

Against an athletic and deep Paola team, the Lady Cats tried to slow the game down early. Louisburg worked the clock in the first quarter and were able to get shots off, but they didn’t fall.

On the other end, Paola went on an 11-0 run to take a 14-2 lead going into the second quarter and the Lady Cats (11-11) were forced to play faster. Paola took a 36-13 lead at halftime and didn’t look back.

“We tried a bunch of different things,” coach Lowry said. “We slowed it down early and then we even tried some zone a little later and that didn’t really work. They are just a great team with a lot of weapons. They are one of the best teams in the state for a reason.”

Moore led the Lady Cats with 14 points and Lowry finished with eight in the loss. Megan Lemke, O’Keefe and Paige Buffington also scored in the loss.

Coach Lowry has seen his team progress throughout the season, a team that is filled with underclassmen to go along with three senior leaders.

“You could tell the chemistry wasn’t where it needed to be to start the season, but this team is so close right now,” he said. “The seniors did a good job of leading those underclassmen and they have really come together. Before the game, they basically just hung out all day, not because they had to, but because they wanted to.

“I am just as proud of this 11-11 team as I am of the 17-5 team that made it this far last year. They really have improved a great deal and have worked hard at it.”

LOUISBURG                          2               11           11         4 – 28

PAOLA                                    14           22           16        10 – 62

LOUISBURG (11-11): Natalie Moore 3-11 6-9 14; Kirstin Lowry 3-8 2-2 8; Megan Lemke 1-4 1-2 3; Kallie O’Keefe 1-2 0-0 2; Paige Buffington 1-4 0-0 2. Totals: 9-36 9-13 28. 3-point field goals: 2, (Moore 2)

Louisburg senior Kirstin Lowry drives the lane on a Fort Scott defender during Friday’s substate Class 4A Division I semifinal game at Paola High School. Lowry and the Lady Cats rolled to a 71-42 victory.

PAOLA – The first step to a state tournament berth was an easy one for the Louisburg girls basketball team.

The No. 2 seed Lady Cats faced off with No. 3 Fort Scott in the semifinals of the Class 4A Division I substate tournament and ran away with a 71-42 victory Friday at Paola High School. Louisburg opened the game on a 24-5 run and never looked back.

“It was probably the most fun game we have played all year,” Louisburg senior Natalie Moore said. “It is definitely exciting to get this win because we all played well. It was a good win.”

Moore definitely had a lot of fun as she made the Fort Scott defense pay on countless occasions as the Tigers couldn’t keep her out of the lane and she eventually finished with a game-high 24 points. Most of those points came from the free-throw line as she connected on 16 of 20 attempts.

When she wasn’t putting up runners or going to the free-throw line, Moore had no problems finding her open teammates, including Kallie O’Keefe. Her drives left O’Keefe open several time as she finished with 17 points to go along with several rebounds and second-chance points.

“When teams don’t play us often or don’t know what we like to run, our style of play can make it pretty difficult on them and that is what happened,” Louisburg coach Shawn Lowry said. “I thought we played well. We had different kids step up and not just one or two girls. All the girls made some big contributions.”

The Lady Cats (11-10) also got a big boost from the outside as senior Kirstin Lowry and sophomore Paige Buffington all hit big shots. Buffington finished with 13 points and Lowry added 11 as each connected on three 3-pointers.

Louisburg and Fort Scott went back and forth through the first part of the opening quarter, but the Lady Cats pulled away as they went on a 19-0 run that went into the second quarter. Louisburg went into halftime with a 42-15 lead.

“Getting off to a good start was very important to us,” O’Keefe said. “We aren’t exactly the best third quarter team so to get out to a big lead was nice and really got some confidence going.”

That next step to a possible state tournament berth is going to be a little tougher. The Lady Cats will go up against undefeated Paola on the Panthers’ home court at 6 p.m. tonight. Paola defeated Spring Hill 50-23 on Friday.

“They are excited for the opportunity, there is no doubt,” coach Lowry said. “We are going to have our hands full but the girls have worked hard all week in practice and all season for this. This team, especially these seniors, are not ready to see this come to an end.”

O’Keefe couldn’t agree more.

“This game is why we have been going to summer weights since the sixth-grade for,” she said. “All the work we have put in over the years is to prepare us for this game. We want to go to state and we are excited for the opportunity.”

LOUISBURG                24           18           22           7 – 71

FORT SCOTT               5             10           18           9 – 42

LOUISBURG (11-10): Natalie Moore 24, Kallie O’Keefe 17, Paige Buffington 13, Kirstin Lowry 11, Isabelle Holtzen 4, Megan Lemke 2. Totals: 22 21-27 42. 3-point field goals: 6, (Lowry 3, Buffington 3)

It wasn’t the senior night the Louisburg girls basketball team had hoped for when it hosted rival Paola.

The Lady Cats took the Panthers to the wire in their first match up, but Friday was a different story. Paola shot well from the field and took control early as it downed Louisburg 62-38.

Paola, the No. 2 team in Class 4A-Division I, also ended its regular season with a 20-0 record – an unbeaten streak the Lady Cats had hoped to break.

“Paola is just a really good team,” Louisburg coach Shawn Lowry said. “They have really good players. They are athletic, they have size and they can shoot the ball really well. We just didn’t play well enough to stay with them.”

Following the game, the Lady Cats (10-10) and their fans honored their three seniors and their families. Natalie Moore, Kallie O’Keefe and Kirstin Lowry all said their final goodbyes to their home crowd.

Kallie O’Keefe skips into her senior night ceremony Friday with her parents Angie and Mike O’Keefe.

Louisburg senior Kirstin Lowry holds hands with her parents Kristine and Shawn Lowry as she was honored Friday during senior night.

Natalie Moore walks onto the floor for the senior night ceremony Friday with her brother Nathan and her parents Lynne and Doug Moore.

The three Louisburg seniors have led the team throughout the season and provided a lot of highs in a season that brought 10 wins.

“They have been in the program for four years and have given a lot to this team,” coach Lowry said. “For me personally, I have been around them for most of their lives and I have watched them grow. I have probably coached them since the third grade and my relationship with them is pretty special, and not just because Kirstin is my daughter.

“All three have provided good leadership for the younger kids playing and they have been a big part of the team. They will definitely be missed.”

After the last meeting went down to the final minutes, the Lady Cats couldn’t keep up with Paola this time as the Panthers connected on eight 3-pointers and controlled the glass. Paola took a 17-6 lead into second quarter after scoring the first nine points of the game.

Kirstin Lowry ended the scoring drought with a 3-pointer and O’Keefe followed with a basket to make it a 9-5 deficit, but the Lady Cats would get no closer.

Paola scored 22 more points in the third quarter to grow its lead to 56-28 and all but sealed the win for the Panthers.

O’Keefe led the Lady Cats scoring wise with a team-high 10 points, while Kirstin Lowry and Moore each finished with eight points. Sophomores Madisen Simpson and Paige Buffington each added five.

Paola’s Tiana Moala was one of four Panthers to score in double figures as she scored a team-high 16 points and Lyndsee Johnson added 13.

The two teams could see each other again this weekend as Paola hosts the four-team substate tournament. Louisburg, the No. 2 seed, will play No. 3 Fort Scott (4-16) at 6 p.m. on Friday

If the Lady Cats advance, they will play in the championship game at 6 p.m. Saturday against the winner of No. 1 Paola and No. 4 Spring Hill.

“I guess we just need to try different things,” coach Lowry said. “I hope to play Paola again because that means we will be in the championship game. I think the girls are ready for substate and they know what it means. If you lose, it is over and the girls aren’t ready to be done.”

LOUISBURG                6             9             13           10 – 38

PAOLA                         17           17           22           6 – 62

LOUISBURG (10-10): Kallie O’Keefe 10; Kirstin Lowry 8; Natalie Moore 8; Madisen Simpson 5; Paige Buffington 5; Emalee Overbay 2. Totals 11 12-22 38. 3-point field goals: 4, (Lowry 2, Simpson, Buffington)