#1 19-Point Rally Saves Championship Season In the Black Hole
On February 6, the Lady Leopards overwhelmed the West Branch Warriors 56-37 in front of a packed Louisville Gymnasium to clinch their second straight NBC Championship. Two days later they clinched the title outright for the second straight year with a 65-46 win over Canton South.
While the West Branch game without a doubt decided the NBC and after the South game the 
Lady Leps were seen cutting down nets, it was a cold December 17 afternoon that decided the fate of the 2011-12 Louisville Lady Leopards. Louisville cruised to a 4-1 start in which they won every game by 11+ points except for their loss at West Branch. To Carrollton they went, and into the Black Hole they entered.
Then like a lightning bolt piercing through the heart of their championship dreams the Warriors built a 22-3 lead with 1:25 left in the first quarter. Carrollton shot 75% from the floor and nailed 4 three-pointers. One Louisville fan said it best at the conclusion of the contest, “They were throwing dirt on our grave in the first quarter.”
Most teams would have packed it in, most teams would have ate the loss right then and there, but the 2011-12 Lady Leopards do not fall under the category of most teams. Buckets by Clara Lemmon and Brianna Libertore cut the deficit to 22-7 at the end of the opening quarter and they managed to shrink the lead down to 33-22 at the break.
Carrollton still remained deadly though and they finished making 7 of 14 shots from beyond the arch for the game. The Warriors Taylor Lowdermilk hit home 4 three-pointers and her partner in crime Tess Sanders cashed in 3 triples. But in a total team effort, Louisville retaliated to cut the lead to single digits at the end of three, 47-38.
Libertore and Mackenzie Storlie began the fourth quarter with back-to-back traditional three-point plays to cut the deficit to 49-44. The two squads then exchanged possessions and back-to-back jump balls before Louisville was fouled going to the basket three times. Each time Libertore and Lemmon made Carrollton pay as the two combined to hit six straight free throws. The clutch free throws gave Louisville their first advantage of the contest (50-49) at the 4:24 mark of the fourth quarter. But the Warriors struck back with an 8-2 run to take a 57-52 lead.
Another death blow was avoided by another Leopard charge. Angela Risaliti hustled after a loose ball and then nailed two clutch free throws. Meanwhile, Carrollton would make just 1 of their next 4 shots from the charity stride. Molly Brown scored on a lay-in and Storlie hit from the left elbow to tie the game at 58-58 under a minute to play.
Then Risaliti’s hustle paid off again as she forced a jump ball at mid-court that gave the ball back to Louisville with 29 seconds remaining. After a timeout, Louisville ran the clock down under 10 seconds. Lemmon to Brown, Brown over to Storlie, Storlie drives and passes back over to Brown, Brown shoots from the left wing… PANDEMONIUM. The Leopards fans went crazy as the scoreboard lights reluctantly flashed: LOUISVILLE 61, CARROLLTON 58 with 0:01.2 seconds remaining. Soon after, a Storlie Powerderpuff Football like interception at mid-court sealed the Lady Leopards victory and saved their 2011-12 NBC Championship Season.
Players will move on and the next class will put on that blue and white uniform to defend the tradition of Lady Leopards basketball. But if you are ever asked to define the heart of that tradition, you can now smile and begin to tell the story of when Louisville traveled to Carrollton on a Saturday afternoon in December 2011.
Lady Leopards Basketball 2011-12 Results
| Game | Date | Opponent | W-L | Louisville | Opponent |
| FOUNDATION GAME | |||||
| Pre-1 | 11/22 | Canton McKinley | L | 36 | 52 |
| REGULAR SEASON | |||||
| 1 | 11/26 | GlenOak | W | 62 | 47 |
| 2 | 11/30 | Canfield | W | 58 | 47 |
| 3 | 12/3 | Minerva | W | 59 | 42 |
| 4 | 12/10 | at West Branch | L | 41 | 56 |
| 5 | 12/14 | Salem | W | 61 | 25 |
| 6 | 12/17 | at Carrollton | W | 61 | 58 |
| 7 | 12/28 | Marlington | W | 50 | 45 |
| 8 | 1/3 | at Lake | L | 30 | 66 |
| 9 | 1/5 | at Massillon | L | 48 | 49 |
| 10 | 1/7 | at Alliance | W | 75 | 26 |
| 11 | 1/11 | at Canton South | W | 69 | 40 |
| 12 | 1/14 | at Minerva | W | 68 | 39 |
| 13 | 1/17 | at Perry | L | 41 | 42 |
| 1/21 | West Branch | Postp. | |||
| 14 | 1/25 | at Salem | W | 57 | 42 |
| 15 | 1/28 | Carrollton | W | 43 | 33 |
| 16 | 2/1 | at Marlington | W | 53 | 49 |
| 17 | 2/4 | Alliance | W | 63 | 11 |
| 18 | 2/6 | West Branch | W | 56 | 37 |
| 19 | 2/8 | Canton South | W | 65 | 46 |
| 20 | 2/15 | Canton Central Catholic | W | 44 | 40 |
| DI SECTIONAL (at Walsh) | |||||
| 21 | 2/18 | Vs. Massillon | L | 43 | 53 |
Top 12 Leopards Sports Moments of 2011-12
Honorable Mention Moments
12. Girls Soccer Scores 24 Goals in 2 Games, Records Fall
11. Poyser Wins Back-To-Back District Wrestling Titles
10. Girls Golf Wins Inaugural NBC Title
9. Girls Tennis Wins 2nd Straight NBC
8. Undefeated Girls Track & Gentry Wins Regional
7. X-Country NBC Domination, Rankin Wins Regional
6. Hoover’s Late Victory Leads to NBC Crown
5. Win at McKinley Leads to Undefeated Season
4. Softball Finishes Perfect in NBC, Sets School Wins Record
2B. Volleyball Comes All the Way Back to Win Sectional
2A. Leopards Dethrone Defending Champs in Classic Win
1. 19-Point Rally Saves Championship Season In the Black Hole
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