BACK-TO-BACK! Lady Leps Stun West Branch 56-37
FULL VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS
Louisville 56, West Branch 37
The Lady Leopards jumped out to an 8-0 lead and never looked back as they stunned the West Branch Warriors 56-37 Monday night at Louisville High School. The win gives Louisville at least a share of the NBC Championship with a chance to win the title outright Wednesday when they host Canton South. Brianna Libertore poured in 15 points, Mackenzie Storlie also scored 14 points, and Clara Lemmon also dropped in 10 to lead the Lady Leopards to their fifth straight victory.
The bitter loss at West Branch earlier this season is nothing but a distant memory now. All questions have been answered and all critics have been silenced. The Lady Leopards put forth one of their best defensive efforts of the season, thanks to plenty of hustle, and also hit timely shots to help them win their third straight home meeting with West Branch.
The butterflies were unleashed at the outset of the game as both team’s failed to score through the first 2:12. But the Leopards broke their nerves with an 8-0 run following that. Storlie lifted the goose egg off the scoreboard with a “stop and pop” jumper from the free throw line. Then Libertore also hit a deep two-ball, Lemmon scored on a putback, and Storlie found Molly Brown for two more forcing a Warrior timeout.
West Branch failed to score until the 3:21 mark of the first quarter when Rebekah Zets buried a three-pointer from the left corner. However, that did not stop Lemmon from answering right back with a jumper on the other end to make it 10-3 Lady Leps. Later on, Zets hit another three-ball which helped West Branch cut the Louisville lead to 12-9 at the end of the first quarter. Zets would finish with a team-high 9 points for the contest.
In the first meeting on December 10, the Lady Warriors hit 6 shots from beyond the arch, but in this game Louisville clamped down on the perimeter allowing West Branch to shoot just 17% from downtown. This forced the Warriors to drive to the bucket where Libertore, Lemmon, and others threw a block party. This defensive effort went a long way in creating 17 Warrior turnovers that helped give Louisville momentum and confidence all night long.
The Lady Leps never trailed. The closest the Warriors got to taking the lead all night was 12-11 in the second quarter. A 7-2 run spearheaded by Storlie to end the half gave Louisville even more breathing room. She produced an absolutely wicked Rondo-like drive to the basket to make it 17-13. Then she hustled to grab her own rebound before lacing a no-look pass to Libertore who laid it home. Then, just before the half Storlie grabbed a loose ball and earned an assist off Brown’s three-pointer from the left wing with 12 seconds to go. Brown would finish with 9 and Louisville held a 22-15 advantage at the break.
A West Branch basket opened the second half, but Lemmon quickly countered with a make underneath that also drew a foul. 24-17 Leps. West Branch would cut the Leopard lead to 26-21, but a 5-0 Louisville run would follow to extend the lead to double figures for the first time. First, Storlie beat the West Branch defense to the back door and scored on a lay-in. Then she found Angela Risaliti on the right wing for three more points.
On the other end, Zets scored and was fouled much to the disgust of the fans in blue. Her extra free throw trimmed the Louisville lead to 33-24 and momentum seemed to shift back to the girls and green.
But Storlie and the Leps refused to let West Branch go on a run by continuing to score. Storlie first hit a jumper from the deepest part of the free throw area and then blocked a West Branch pass on their own end. She picked up the block for the steal and then dropped it home to put Louisville up 35-24.
As time waned down in the third quarter, the Lady Leps seized all momentum on a Storlie to Brown to Libertore connection to give them a 37-26 lead with eight minutes remaining. Libertore’s lay-in with 12 seconds left marked the second straight quarter that the Lady Leps got a big bucket in the final ticks before time expired.
In the fourth quarter, the Lady Leps polished the finishing touches on their newest NBC crown. The Lady Leopards hit home 11 of 13 free throws, Brown intercepted two Warrior passes, and Libertore scored 7 of her 15 points to give Louisville the 19-point victory. Ironically the same point deficit that was erased in Carrollton to give their season new life earlier this year.
This is a brand new rejuvenated Lady Leopards team, which is a far cry from the one that lost at the Field House earlier this season. This team has chemistry, this team is clutch, this is a scary team, this team is your Lady Leopards, and your Lady Leopards are once again NBC Champions!
STATISTICS
WARRIORS: Zets 3 1-1 9, Trimmer 3 2-4 8, Loiselle 3 0-0 7, Heath 3 0-2 6, Linhart 1 1-2 3, Bryte 1 0-0 2, Carlton 1 0-0 2. TOTALS 15 4-9 37.
TEAM FG: 15-51 29%
TEAM 3PT: 3-18 17% | Zets (2), Loiselle (1)
TEAM FT: 4-9 44%
LEOPARDS: Libertore 6 3-4 15, Storlie 5 4-4 14, C. Lemmon 5 0-2 10, Brown 3 2-3 9, Risaliti 2 0-0 5, H. Lemmon 0 2-2 2, Rice 0 1-2 1. TOTALS 21 12-17 56.
TEAM FG: 21-46 46%
TEAM 3PT: 2-12 17% | Brown (1), Risaliti (1)
TEAM FT: 12-17 71%
Team 1-2-3-4-Total
West Branch 9-6-11-11–37
Louisville 12-10-15-19–56
Rebounds: Louisville 32-24
Fouls: West Branch 16-10
Turnovers: West Branch 17-14
Records: Louisville 14-4, 12-1; West Branch 15-2, 11-2
NEXT UP: The Lady Leps will next host the Canton South Wildcats on Wednesday, February 8. JV will tip at 6:00 and Varsity will follow at approximately 7:30. The Lady Leopards will be playing for their second straight outright NBC Championship!
PICTURES
JV REPORT
West Branch 42, Louisville 38
West Branch spoiled the Louisville JV squad’s perfect run through the NBC by winning 42-38 in the preliminary game Monday night. Rachel Zeller led all Leopards scorers with 11 points and Hollyann Mullett also added 8 during the Leps first loss in five games.
West Branch built a 29-21 lead after three quarters before watching Louisville rally back. However, the Warriors pulled it out in the end by shooting better from the free throw line. Lea Bock led West Branch with 16 points, Allie Garrett had 13, and Erica Johnson had 12.
The Lady Leopards also out-fouled the Lady Warriors 21-13 and were out-rebounded 34-17. However, their defensive play kept them in the game as they forced 23 West Branch turnovers.
The Louisville JV team is now 13-5 overall and 12-1 in the NBC. They will be playing for the top of the league standings for Junior Varsity in their final NBC game against Canton South Wednesday.
JV PICTURES
JV STATISTICS
WARRIORS: Bock 6 4-4 16, Garrett 4 2-5 13, Johnson 3 6-10 12, Shard 0 1-5 1. TOTALS 13 13-24 42.
TEAM FG: 13-30 43%
TEAM 3PT: 3-7 43%
TEAM FT: 13-24 54%
LEOPARDS: Zeller 5 0-0 11, Mullett 2 3-8 8, Hmeidan 3 1-2 7, Nees 1 2-2 4, Rankin 1 0-2 3, Noble 1 0-0 2, Skolosh 1 0-2 2, Hupp 0 1-2 1. TOTALS 14 7-18 38.
TEAM FG: 14-59 24%
TEAM 3PT: 3-17 18%
TEAM FT: 7-18 39%
Team 1-2-3-4–Total
West Branch 10-7-12-13–42
Louisville 5-10-6-17–38
Rebounds: West Branch 34-17
Fouls: Louisville 21-13
Turnovers: West Branch 23-16
