Louisburg senior Delanie Tally goes up for two points and gets fouled Friday during the Lady Cats’ 44-27 victory at Baldwin.

BALDWIN CITY — For the second time in less than a month, the Louisburg girls basketball team put together one of their better performances of the season against Baldwin.

The Lady Cats jumped out to a double digit lead in the first quarter and never looked back in a 44-27 victory over the Bulldogs on Friday in Baldwin City. The win came at a perfect time as it ended a two game losing skid for Louisburg.

“The win against Baldwin was a needed win for our team,” Louisburg coach Adrianne Lane said. “The girls were very excited to get this win. They played with confidence and they played together.

“Starting off with some quick scores definitely set the tone for the game. When we score quickly, the rest of the game is smoother.”

Louisburg (7-2) got out to the start it was looking for as the Lady Cats outscored Baldwin 16-4 to begin the game and they built on their lead from there. The Lady Cats held a 27-10 halftime advantage before the two teams played even in the second half.

Offensively, Louisburg was also able to overcome its recent struggles as the Lady Cats shot 39 percent from the floor and connected on six 3-pointers.

Senior guard Delanie Tally had a big night for Louisburg she scored a game-high 14 points and connected on three 3-pointers.

“The girls played very smart on offense,” Lane said. “If our play was not working, they would reset and we would run something different. This made a huge difference with how our offense was ran and how we moved the ball. Delanie did a great job on Friday. She played with confidence and she made some great plays on both sides of the ball.”

Another senior, Adyson Ross, did a little bit of everything for Louisburg. Ross finished with a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds to go along with four assists.

Senior forward Ava Baker also provided big scoring off the bench with nine points, while senior Emma Prettyman was second on the team with seven rebounds.

Defensively, the Lady Cats held Baldwin to just 21 percent shooting and held one of the league’s top players — Karly Neufeld — to just four points. Louisburg also outrebounded Baldwin, 36-23.

“The girls did such a great job on defense,” Lane said. “Every player did their job and guarded their person exactly how we practiced. The girls who guarded Karly did fantastic. Our team is so lucky to have some many girls who can and will face guard when asked.”

Louisburg will try for back-to-back wins starting today as it squares off with Blue Valley West in the first round of the Tonganoxie Invitational. Tipoff is set for 4:30 p.m.

The Lady Cats will also play on Thursday and Saturday. The tournament features teams such as state-ranked Wamego, along with 5A schools in Bonner Springs and Piper.

“Our team is very excited to play in this tournament,” Lane said. “It will be good to play some different teams and to get some great experience against some really good opponents.” 

LOU 16 11 8 9 — 44

BAL 4 6 8 9 — 27

LOUISBURG (7-2): Delanie Tally 5-7 1-1 14; Adyson Ross 4-13 1-2 11; Ava Baker 4-5 0-1 9; Brianne Kuhlman 2-3 0-1 4; Emma Lohse 1-4 0-0 2; Ashley Branine 1-4 0-0 2; Emma Prettyman 1-7 0-0 2. Totals: 18-46 2-5 44. 3-point field goals: 6, (Tally 3, Ross 2, Baker)

Louisburg Mason Dobbins gets to the basket for two points Friday against Baldwin. Dobbins finished with six points and seven rebounds on the night.

BALDWIN CITY — Friday the 13th couldn’t have been more prevalent for the Louisburg boys basketball team.

The Wildcats traveled to Baldwin last Friday in hopes of avoiding some terrible luck.

Unfortunately, Louisburg experienced all that fateful day had to offer as the Wildcats struggled offensively to get anything going in a 66-31 loss to the Bulldogs.

Baldwin, which is ranked No. 9 in Class 4A, had the opposite effect. The Bulldogs blew the game open with a 34-point third quarter, and couldn’t seem to miss, as they handed the Wildcats their fourth straight setback.

“We needed to get off to a good start and we missed some good looks early on in the first quarter,” Louisburg coach Ty Pfannenstiel said. “I think if we could’ve seen the ball go through the net, that would have given us some confidence and momentum. We just never got anything going offensively. Baldwin played well. They knocked down a lot of big shots and really opened things up in the 3rd quarter.”

Louisburg (4-5) did its best to slow down the Bulldogs in the first half as the Wildcats limited them to just 22 points at halftime. Louisburg, however, had a tough time seeing the ball go through the hoop as it had just 11.

Baldwin put the game away in the third quarter with its big run. The Bulldogs shot 53 percent for the game and knocked down 11 3-pointers.

Louisburg senior Colyer Wingfield led the team in scoring (14 points), rebounds (7) and assists (3). Senior Mason Dobbins also pulled down seven rebounds for the Wildcats and was second on the team in scoring with six points.

The Wildcats will try and snap their losing skid starting today when they travel to the Pleasanton Mid-Season Tournament. Louisburg will face Osawatomie at 5 p.m. to begin round-robin play.

They will then square off with Pleasanton on Thursday and Northeast Kansas Homeschool out of Topeka on Friday.

“This is a big week for us,” Pfannenstiel said. “I told our guys that we need to get our confidence back.  We need to lock in on doing the little things right that make the difference. Hopefully our defense comes out strong and we can get into some rhythm offensively this week. We have to take a big jump forward mentally this week.”

LOU 6 5 11 9 — 31

BAL 10 12 34 10 — 66

LOUISBURG (4-5): Colyer Wingfield 5-18 4-4 14; Mason Dobbins 3-6 0-2 6; Conlee Hovey 1-3 1-2 3; Trey Myers 0-4 2-4 2; Myles Vohs 1-3 0-0 2; Gavin Lohse 1-1 0-1 2; Jaymes Melton 1-3 0-0 2. Totals: 12-50 7-13 31. 3-point field goals, none

Louisburg senior Colyer Wingfield goes up for two points Tuesday during the Wildcats’ home contest against Spring Hill. Wingfield finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds in the loss.

When it came to shots inside the arc, the Louisburg boys lived well.

However, it was those attempts beyond it that hurt the Wildcats the most Tuesday in their home contest with Spring Hill. Louisburg missed all 15 attempts from the outside, which made a comeback difficult in its 48-42 loss to the Broncos

Mistakes also haunted the Wildcats as they turned the ball over 19 times, which led to 12 Spring Hill points.

“I told our guys that it’s going to be hard to win in the Frontier League with 19 turnovers and going 0-15 from the 3-point line,” Louisburg coach Ty Pfannenstiel said. “Those two stats were glaringly bad. We have to do a better job of taking care of the ball and being more efficient on offense.”

The Wildcats trailed by just one after the first quarter and found themselves down just 24-17 at halftime.

Both teams played even in the second half and the Wildcats trimmed a double-digit Spring Hill lead to four with under a minute remaining, but couldn’t get closer.

Louisburg got a big game from senior Colyer Wingfield who finished with a double-double. Wingfield had a team-high 23 points and pulled down 10 rebounds.

Junior Luke Hill finished with six points, while sophomore Myles Vohs came off the bench to give the Wildcats a lift with five points. It was his first varsity points of the season.

“I thought we had some guys come in and provide a lot of energy,” Pfannenstiel said. “Myles Vohs came in and sparked us with his effort and toughness. His effort showed that he deserves some more varsity court time.”

Louisburg will try and snap its 3-game losing skid tonight when the Wildcats travel to No. 9-ranked Baldwin. The Bulldogs handed the Wildcats their only loss prior to the holiday break last month.

“We play a really good Baldwin team (tonight), so this game is going to demand our best effort and execution,” Pfannenstiel said.

LOU 10 7 12 13 — 42

SH 11 13 11 13 — 48

LOUISBURG (4-4): Colyer Wingfield 8-14 7-10 23; Luke Hill 2-7 2-3 6; Myles Vohs 2-4 1-2 5; Conlee Hovey 2-3 0-2 4; Nathan Parker 1-5 0-0 2; Mason Dobbins 0-4 2-2 2. Totals: 15-40 12-19 42. 3-point field goals, none

Louisburg senior Ava Baker goes up for a shot Tuesday during the Lady Cats’ home contest against Spring Hill.

Louisburg found itself down by as many as 15 points to Spring Hill on Tuesday at Louisburg High School.

Still, the Lady Cats didn’t let that bother them.

Instead, they put together a big run in the second half to cut the Bronco lead to just two points. However, Louisburg couldn’t get over the hump in a 47-39 setback as the Broncos handed the Lady Cats their second straight loss on the season.

“The girls did a great job fighting back after halftime,” Louisburg coach Adrianne Lane said. “They showed a lot of heart and hard work. Once we got back into the game, we had a hard time pulling ahead. But I was very proud of them not to give up.

“Overall, I thought we played not to lose versus playing to win. We had some really good moments, but we also had some moments that showed areas that we need to improve in.”

Both teams got out to a good start offensively as the two squads combined for 32 points in the first quarter, but the Lady Cats had a hard time slowing Spring Hill senior Jenna Weber.

Weber scored 12 of the Broncos’ 19 points and finished with a game-high 23. Spring Hill sophomore Sydney Buscher also added a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds.

“Jenna is a great player,” Lane said. “She is hard to guard and does a great job getting herself open in the offense. She had a great game and I think she will continue to thrive throughout her season.”

Defensively, the Lady Cats thrived in the third quarter as they whittled an 11-point Spring Hill lead at halftime, to just three going into the fourth.

Senior Brianne Kuhlman knocked down a pair of free throws at the end of the third and Spring Hill led 34-31. Adyson Ross made it a 2-point game with an offensive rebound and a lay-up with 6:42 left in the game.

It would be as close as the Lady Cats could get as they struggled to hit shots, and free throws, down the stretch.

Louisburg shot 26 percent for the game and converted 7 of 16 free-throw attempts. Still, the Lady Cats used their defense to stay in it as they forced 16 Bronco turnovers.

The Lady Cats also did well on the glass with 17 offensive rebounds, which led to 13 second chance points.

Ross led the Lady Cats in scoring and rebounding. She finished with 11 points and eight rebounds, including six on the offensive end.

Delanie Tally also scored in double figures for Louisburg with 10 points, while senior Emma Prettyman added seven rebounds and three assists in the loss. Tally and Emma Lohse each finished with a team-high three steals.

Louisburg will try and snap its two-game losing skid tonight as the Lady Cats travel to Baldwin. The Lady Cats defeated the Bulldogs by double figures last month and Lane knows it will be a difficult test on the road.

“It is going to be tough, Baldwin will for sure be looking for some revenge and overall our team has been very inconsistent on offense since we played Baldwin last,” Lane said. “I am hoping we can have another great offensive game and get some of our confidence back.”

LOU 13 6 12 8 — 39

SH 19 11 4 13 — 47

LOUISBURG (6-2): Adyson Ross 5-15 0-3 11; Delanie Tally 4-12 0-0 10; Brianne Kuhlman 1-2 3-8 5; Emma Prettyman 1-4 2-2 4; Emma Lohse 1-5 0-1 3; Ashley Branine 1-2 0-0 2; Ava Baker 0-10 2-2 2. Totals: 13-50 7-16 39. 3-point field goals: 4, (Tally 2, Lohse, Ross)

Louisburg senior Adyson Ross goes up for a shot and gets fouled Thursday at Ottawa High School. Ross finished with 15 points in the loss.

OTTAWA — After a successful start to its season, the Louisburg girls basketball team experienced its first hiccup of the 22-23 campaign.

The Lady Cats couldn’t overcome a rough second quarter as they fell to Ottawa, 47-31, on Thursday at Ottawa High School.

Whether it was a tough shooting night, or struggles on defense, Louisburg had a difficult time with a more physical Cyclones team.

“This was a tough game overall for us,” Louisburg coach Adrianne Lane said. “It felt like we couldn’t get anything accomplished on the defensive or offensive side of the ball. It felt like we were almost a half-second behind Ottawa on both ends of the floor.”

Louisburg (6-1) took a one-point lead going into the second quarter, but the Cyclones came to life offensively as they outscored the Lady Cats, 18-7, and took a 26-16 lead at halftime.

The Cyclones’ lead ballooned to 19 in the second half as the Lady Cats shot 22 percent from the floor.

“Ottawa was very physical and tough, and we had not seen a team that played that physical yet,” Lane said. “They did a great job pushing us out of our offense and we had a hard time getting get looks at the basket because of this. They were also very physical on the boards, Ottawa did a great job keeping us off the offensive boards.”

Louisburg senior Adyson Ross provided a bulk of the Lady Cats’ scoring as she finished with a team-high 15 points. Another senior, Emma Prettyman, had a team-best seven rebounds, while senior Delanie Tally led Louisburg with five steals.

The Lady Cats will try and bounce back tonight as they host Spring Hill. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.

“Losing is tough and never the outcome we want, but we always try to learn and get better after we lose,” Lane said. “I can get better and I can help the team get better because of the loss.

LOU 9 7 9 6 — 31

OTT 8 18 13 8 — 47

LOUISBURG (6-1): Adyson Ross 6-15 1-1 15; Brianne Kuhlman 2-5 0-0 4; Emma Prettyman 1-7 2-4 4; Emma Lohse 1-8 0-0 2; Ashley Branine 1-6 0-2 2; Delanie Tally 1-9 0-2 2; Ava Baker 0-3 2-2 2. Totals: 12-55 5-11 31. 3-point field goals: 2, (Ross 2)

Louisburg junior Luke Hill goes up for a shot Thursday against Ottawa in the Wildcats’ contest at Ottawa High School.

It wasn’t the start to 2023 that the Louisburg boys basketball team wanted.

The Wildcats dropped their first two games from break with the second one coming Thursday on the road at Ottawa. Despite a fourth quarter rally, the Wildcats couldn’t quite get over the hump in a 51-44 loss to the Cyclones.

Louisburg (4-3), which found itself down 12 points early in the fourth quarter, eventually cut the deficit to just three points, but couldn’t get any closer.

“I was proud of how we battled back,” Louisburg coach Ty Pfannenstiel said. “We cut it to three and really gave us a shot at the end. My biggest concern was that we seemed to play with more energy in that fourth quarter. We have to get where we play with that energy for all four quarters.”

The Wildcats were down 12 points with 5 minutes left in the game, when senior Mason Dobbins stole the ball and drove the length of the floor for a steal and score. Senior Colyer Wingfield then hit a pair of free throws to cut it to eight.

With two minutes remaining, Louisburg was still down eight, but Luke Hill knocked down a 3-pointer to make it a five-point game.

Senior Isaiah Whitley stole an inbounds pass and found Wingfield cutting to the basket for two points to make it a one possession contest.

Ottawa drove the length of the court and scored on the ensuing possession to all but ice the game for the Cyclones.

Louisburg struggled to slow the Cyclones down in the second and third quarters as they built a 12-point lead. The Wildcats also turned the ball over 15 times and Ottawa scored 19 points off those mistakes.

“We are still struggling offensively,” Pfannenstiel said. “We didn’t have very many possessions where I would say that we ran good offense. Our defense is still keeping us in games but need to pick it up on the offensive end.”

Hill led the Wildcats on the offensive end with 11 points, including three 3-pointers. Wingfield also finished in double figures with 10 points and a team-high three assists.

Senior Mason Dobbins also did a lot of work underneath the basket with eight points to go along with team-highs in rebounds (9) and steals (3).

Louisburg had a tough time slowing Ottawa’s Caleb Hepner down as he scored a game-high 25 points, which included five 3-pointers. The Cyclones knocked down eight 3-pointers on the night.

“Hepner had a heck of a game,” Pfannenstiel said. “He got some open looks and converted on them. He’s a good, young player. Overall, Ottawa shot it pretty well from the perimeter and that made a big difference compared to how we shot it.”

Louisburg will try and bounce back Tuesday when it hosts Spring Hill. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.

LOU 10 10 8 16 — 44

OTT 8 15 17 11 — 51

LOUISBURG (4-3): Luke Hill 4-11 0-0 11; Colyer Wingfield 2-9 6-6 10; Mason Dobbins 4-5 0-2 8; Trey Myers 3-8 1-4 7; Cade Gassman 2-4 0-0 4; Conlee Hovey 1-3 0-2 2; Isaiah Whitley 1-1 0-0 2. Totals: 17-42 6-10 44. 3-point field goals: 4, (Hill 3, Myers)

Wildcats drop home contest to Eudora

On Jan. 3, Louisburg hosted Eudora in its first game back from the holiday break and the Wildcats didn’t have the warmest welcome.

Eudora jumped out to a seven-point lead after one quarter and extended that lead to 13 later in the contest. And while their defense got the Wildcats back in it, the offense struggled in a 41-34 loss to the No. 6 team in Class 4A.

Louisburg shot 3-for-19 from 3-point range and were just 7-for-16 from the free-throw line.

“Overall, I thought we played ok for our first game out after a long break,” Pfannenstiel said. “Eudora is really good defensively so we struggled to get going on that end of the floor. We obviously needed some shots to fall. If we want to beat one of the best teams in the state, we can’t go 3-19 from 3 and 7-16 from the free throw line. We have to be better offensively.”

The Cardinals got a bulk of their scoring from two players. Logan Sullivan torched the nets for Eudora with a game-high 27 points and seven 3-pointers, while Cole Parker finished with 12. The two combined for 39 of the team’s 41 points.

“Those two players are tough,” Pfannenstiel said. “They actually have a really good group of guards, so even though we struggled to stop those two, overall we held them to 41. We should be able to win games when we hold a team in the 40s. That was Sullivan’s first game back from injury. He was injured in the first game of the year, so he hadn’t been in their lineup since week one. He really changes the dynamic of their team. He can score in bunches.  

“We have to do a better job of playing team defense to contain a player like that. We definitely struggled early hedging the handoffs and switching screens.  We just have to do a better job of communicating and all being on the same page. It wasn’t a 1 on 1 matchup issue, we all have to take responsibility for getting the ball out of his hands.”

Wingfield did a bulk of the scoring for Louisburg as he finished with 16 points, while senior Trey Myers finished with seven, including a pair of 3-pointers. Senior Mason Dobbins had a team-high eight rebounds and senior Isaiah Whitley finished with seven.

LOU 8 9 6 11 — 34

EUD 15 8 8 10 — 41

LOUISBURG: Colyer Wingfield 6-11 4-8 16; Trey Myers 2-6 1-4 7; Mason Dobbins 3-5 0-0 6; Luke Hill 1-7 0-0 3; Conlee Hovey 0-0 2-2 2. Totals: 12-36 7-16 34. 3-point field goals: 3, (Myers 2, Hill)

Louisburg junior Ashley Branine leaps through the air to save a ball from going out of bounds Tuesday at home against Eudora.

It wasn’t the prettiest game for Louisburg on Tuesday, but the end result was exactly what the Lady Cats were looking for.

Louisburg overcame a tough shooting night, but the Lady Cats held off Eudora for a 38-35 victory over the Cardinals at Louisburg High School. The win moves the Lady Cats, who are currently ranked No. 6 in Class 4A, to 6-0 on the season.

“I am very proud of them,” Louisburg coach Adrianne Lane said of her team. “This one was a hard one for us. I feel that we struggled with matchups all night, who we were guarding and weak side help. For them to pull this out, they did a really good job.”

It was the first game back from the holiday break for both teams and the Lady Cats had to shake off a little rust. Louisburg shot 35 percent from the field, but just 2-for-17 from 3-point range.

Those two 3-point makes were big ones, however.

Eudora opened the second half on a 12-4 run, before senior Adyson Ross knocked down a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give Louisburg a 29-28 lead going into the fourth quarter.

Senior Delanie Tally provided the Lady Cats with another big basket late in the fourth. Tally hit a 3-pointer from the corner to put Louisburg up 36-33 with 1:45 left in the game.

“They didn’t give up and that was a great thing to see,” Lane said. “We have to keep shooting and I encourage the girls to keep doing so, even if they are missing. We came up with some big shots there in the second half and it was nice to see those go in.”

Eudora cut the Louisburg lead to one on the next possession and had the opportunity to take the lead with under 20 seconds left in the game. Louisburg’s Ashley Branine and Ava Baker trapped Eudora’s Sawyer Schreiner and forced a travel with three seconds left.

Ross would then get fouled and converted both free throws to ice the game for the Lady Cats.

“They did exactly like I asked them to do,” Lane said. “They stood there with their hands up. The last few times down the floor we got called for fouls, so we did a great job there to force that travel.”

It was a close game throughout as Louisburg held a 10-9 lead after the first quarter, and it extended it to 22-16 at halftime. Eudora then opened the third on an 8-0 run and it went back-and-forth the rest of the way.

Ross led the Lady Cats in scoring with 13 points and also had a team-high eight rebounds. Senior Emma Lohse also finished in double figures with 10 points and three assists.

Senior Emma Prettyman finished with seven rebounds and also had a team-best four steals and two blocks. Senior point guard Brianne Kuhlman had a team-high four assists.

Louisburg will try and make it seven in a row tonight as the Lady Cats travel to Ottawa for a Frontier League matchup. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.

LOU 10 12 7 9 — 38

EUD 9 7 12 7 — 35

LOUISBURG (6-0): Adyson Ross 5-9 2-3 13; Emma Lohse 5-6 0-2 10; Ava Baker 3-6 0-0 6; Ashley Branine 2-6 0-0 4; Delanie Tally 1-11 0-0 3; Emma Prettyman 1-5 0-0 2. Totals: 17-48 2-5 38. 3-point field goals: 2, (Ross, Tally)

Here is the Louisburg Sports Zone Athlete of the Week for week three of the winter sports season, sponsored by Edward Jones-Craig Holtzen.

COLYER WINGFIELD, SENIOR, BOYS BASKETBALL

Louisburg senior Colyer Wingfield came up big for the Wildcat boys basketball team this past Thursday. Wingfield hit the game-winning shot with .2 seconds left to give Louisburg a 64-63 victory over Frontenac. It also improved the Wildcats’ record to 4-1 on the season.

Against Frontenac, Wingfield scored a team-high 30 points and pulled down 10 rebounds. He also handed out three assists and had three steals. He also finished with 12 points in a loss to Baldwin earlier in the week. Wingfield is the team’s leading scorer on the year as he averages 18.4 points a game to go along with nearly seven rebounds a contest.

The athlete of the week award is announced every Wednesday morning during the winter season and the winner is selected by Louisburg Sports Zone with the help of nominations from coaches.

Previous winners

Week 1: Adyson Ross

Week 2: Colin Brown

Louisburg senior Colyer Wingfield (left) celebrates with teammates Luke Hill, Brock Vohs (22) and Mason Dobbins (34) following his game-winning shot Thursday at home against Frontenac.

Christmas came early for the Louisburg boys basketball team and Colyer Wingfield had no problem playing the role of Santa Claus. 

Wingfield gave the Wildcats one of the best gifts they could have asked for, as his drive to the basket with .2 seconds left gave Louisburg a 64-63 victory over Frontenac in double overtime. 

In what looked like was going a tough time for the Wildcats going into the holidays, turned into a Christmas miracle of sorts.

“We always want Colyer going to the goal,” Louisburg coach Ty Pfannenstiel said. “So for him to make that play was big time, especially since the team was really keying on him. What a play it was.”

Wingfield was big for the Wildcats all night as he finished with a game-high 30 points to go along with 10 rebounds, three steals and three assists.

It was a perfect ending to what appeared to be a disastrous loss for the Wildcats.

Louisburg saw at 13-point fourth quarter lead fade away as Frontenac outscored the Wildcats, 19-6, in the fourth to force overtime.

The Raiders continued that momentum as they scored the first seven points of overtime. A 26-6 run that started in the fourth quarter, put the Wildcats in a deep hole and not much time left.

“We didn’t have great energy by any means, but they were still confident,” Pfannenstiel said. “It was a calm huddle, but they knew they had to be better. They all trusted each other and battled for 40 minutes. I was really proud of how they responded.”

Junior Brock Vohs got the rally started with an offensive rebound and put back. Wingfield then drove the length of the floor for a layup.

On the Wildcats’ next possession, Wingfield found junior Nathan Parker for a big 3-pointer to tie the game late in the first overtime. A Frontenac 3-pointer at the buzzer rimmed out to force a second extra period.

“He is our best shooter,” Pfannenstiel said of Parker. “He is a confident kid and we wanted him in there to take that shot. Colyer made the right play to kick it out to him and I was really happy for him when he made it.”

Frontenac opened the second overtime with a basket, but Vohs tied it with a pair of free throws. The Raiders would take a one-point lead on a free throw with 34 seconds remaining.

That set up Wingfield’s dramatics.

Louisburg had the ball at mid-court with five seconds remaining and the Wildcats inbounded the ball to Wingfield. The Louisburg senior used a screen from Vohs to drive to the basket and score with .2 seconds and was fouled.

Wingfield intentionally missed the free throw and the Wildcats won their fourth game of the season.

“It really didn’t look good there at the start of the first overtime,” Pfannenstiel said. “It takes a lot to battle back like they did. Our kids believed and they executed well down the stretch and stepped up and made some plays. It was a good team win.

“We didn’t know if they were going to go zone or man on that last play, so we kind of had two plays drawn up. They went man and Brock set a good screen to allow Colyer to get to the goal. He had the choice to take it all the way to the rim or kick it out to one of our shooters. He made the right choice.”

Junior Luke Hill also provided the Wildcats with a big boost off the bench. Hill was second on the team in scoring with 14 points, including four 3-pointers.

Senior Mason Dobbins was big around the basket with a team-high 11 rebounds, while sophomore Gavin Lohse came off the bench to get seven rebounds to go along with his first varsity basket.

Now the Wildcats head into the holiday break with just one loss and are off to their best start under Pfannenstiel. Louisburg will look to use that momentum as the Wildcats host Eudora on Jan. 3 in its first action of the new year.

“I told the guys before the game that I haven been here six years and we have never been 4-1 going into the break,” Pfannenstiel said. “That was our goal was to do something we haven’t done in a long time. I don’t think anything could give us more momentum than this win did right there. It was a great win.”

LOU 20 10 17 6 7 4 — 64

FRON 7 12 15 19 7 3 — 63

LOUISBURG (4-1): Colyer Wingfield 10-21 9-12 30; Luke Hill 5-9 0-0 14; Mason Dobbins 3-6 0-0 6; Nathan Parker 2-3 1-2 5; Brock Vohs 1-1 2-2 4; Trey Myers 1-5 0-0 3; Gavin Lohse 1-2 0-2 2. Totals: 23-52 11-16 64. 3-point field goals: 7, (Hill 4, Parker, Myers, Wingfield)

Louisburg senior Emma Prettyman battles for a rebound Thursday during the Lady Cats’ game with Frontenac.

Two days after hitting 10 3-pointers and racking up 72 points, those points didn’t come quite as easy Thursday for the Louisburg girls basketball team.

The Lady Cats hosted Frontenac in their final game before the holidays and had to work for every basket. In the end, it was free throws that saved the day for Louisburg. 

Frontenac trimmed the Louisburg lead to one on couple different occasions in the final three minutes, but free throws from Adyson Ross and Emma Prettyman helped secure the 42-39 win.

For the game, the Lady Cats knocked down 11 of 15 free throw attempts.

“We were able to hit our free throws when we needed to,” Louisburg coach Adrianne Lane said. “One of the big things that we work on is hitting our free throws, and if we can do that, we are going to win games. They were super huge free throws to keep us ahead. I know they are so tired right now mentally and physically, so it was good to see the girls come through in some big moments.”

Down the stretch, both Ross and Prettyman made key plays. Prettyman knocked down a jumper with under two minutes left to extend the Louisburg lead to three and hit a pair of free throws.

Ross hit four straight free throws, including two with under a minute left to once again extend Louisburg’s lead to three points.

Frontenac had a chance to tie in the final seconds, but missed three straight shots and the Lady Cats were able to hold on for the win.

“They found a way to win and that was the most important thing,” Lane said. “It was a very different game than our last one, but I really thought we ran good offense though even though our shots weren’t going in.

“Emma (Prettyman) did a great job scoring for us and also rebounding as well. I thought it was one of her best games of the season so far.”

Prettyman led the Lady Cats in scoring with 12 points to go along with nine rebounds. Ross also scored in double figures with 11 points and five rebounds.

Emma Lohse, one of Louisburg’s smallest players, was active around the basket as she was second on the team with eight rebounds and also had three assists. Junior Ashley Branine led the Lady Cats with three steals on defense.

Senior Brianne Kuhlman provided the Lady Cats with strong play throughout the game with eight points and two assists. Kuhlman connected on a pair of 3-pointers — one in each half — to give her team a little boost offensively.

“Brianne is awesome and is the vocal captain for this team,” Lane said. “She really holds us together and does all the little things right that we need her to do. She hit a couple big 3s for us in this one and has in some other games as well. Super proud of her for looking to score and she is great rebounder too.”

The Lady Cats had a difficult challenge of trying to slow down Frontenac’s Hattie Pyle — the team’s leading scorer. Pyle, who finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds, was a factor for the Raiders all night.

“Pyle is very good player and probably one of the better players I have seen since I started coaching in Louisburg,” Lane said. “She is going to get her points and she was tough to guard. She posted us up some too and we lacked in some help defense, but did a good job overall.”

Now the Lady Cats head into the holidays with a 5-0 record and have a lot of momentum when they resume play again on Jan. 3 agains Eudora.

“We are very excited about that,” Lane said. “Our entire program is 15-0 as freshman and junior varsity haven’t lost yet either, so that is all very exciting. These girls have earned every win we have gotten. They have worked hard in practice and haven’t gotten better everyday. It is a huge start for our program and it is super exciting going into Christmas break.”

LOU 10 8 13 11 — 42

FRON 5 4 13 17 — 39

LOUISBURG (5-0): Emma Prettyman 5-7 2-3 12; Adyson Ross 3-10 5-6 11; Brianne Kuhlman 3-4 0-0 8; Ava Baker 2-8 1-2 5; Delanie Tally 1-8 0-0 3; Ashley Branine 0-4 2-2 2; Emma Lohse 0-3 1-2 1. Totals: 14-44 11-15 42. 3-point field goals: 3, (Kuhlman 2, Tally)