Brown, Lemmon, Libertore, Storlie Put Up Double Figures in Win
Molly Brown, Clara Lemmon, Brianna Libertore, and Mackenzie Storlie all reached double digits as the Louisville Lady Leopards downed the West Branch Lady Warriors 56-45 Wednesday night.
Brown did just about everything for the Lady Leps in the first quarter. She hit a three-ball for the first points of the game, stole a West Branch pass in the paint, blocked a layup and took it the other way, and hit a long two to break a 7-7 tie. However, three-pointers by Brandi Snyder and Amanda Linhart kept the Warriors within 14-12 of the Lady Leps at the end of the one period.
The Leopards took advantage of several Warrior miscues in the second period to build a double digit halftime lead. Libertore, Brown, Storlie, and Desi Givens all had steals in the period, while Clara Lemmon led all scorers with 8 points in a quarter in which the Lady Leps outscored West Branch 15-7. However, Linhart hit a three-pointer with just seconds remaining for the second quarter in a row to shrink the Leopards lead to 29-19 at the half.
If the first two quarters were Brown and Lemmon’s, then the third quarter belonged to Libertore. Early in the quarter Libertore had a huge block in the paint that sent a message to everyone in attendance. Libertore followed her defensive play up with a quarter high 7 points, including an uncharacteristic jumper just right of the elbow. Libertore also finished with a game-high 8 rebounds. Also, the Lady Leps continued to get takeaways as Lauren Bricker, Alyssa Jones, Brown, and Storlie all had steals for Louisville. The Leopards built a lead of 15 points, before going into the fourth quarter leading 43-30.
Brown, Lemmon, and Libertore all had had their turn at leading their team in the previous quarters, so Storlie decided to take hers in the fourth. Storlie hit one from downtown to start off the period and then picked West Branch guard Tia King’s pocket and took it to the house to give the Leopards their largest advantage of the game at 50-33. But the Warriors fought back with a 10-2 run that included a three-ball from King and a three-point play from Linhart. All of the sudden the Leopards lead had shrunk to single digits with 3:06 left to play. Leopards Coach Garee McCully called timeout and desparately pleaded for his team to give up on him. Storlie took to heart what McCully said. She picked off a deflected pass and took it to the rack for her game-high fourth steal of the game. The Leopards continued to dominate on the boards and wound up with a 31-17 advantage in rebounds when the smoke cleared. The Leps ran out the rest of the clock and celebrated their sixth straight victory to start the season. 56-45 Louisville.
LEOPARDS LEADERS:
Assists: Storlie (3), Brown (3)
Points: Libertore (11), Storlie (11)
Rebounds: Libertore (8)
Steals: Storlie (4)
SCORING:
LEOPARDS: Libertore (11), Storlie (11), Brown (10), C. Lemmon (10), Bricker (7), Givens (3), Jones (3), Risaliti (1)
WARRIORS: Wingett (12), Linhart (11), King (7), Carlton (5), Snyder (5), Zets (3), Metzgar (2)
NEXT GAME: The Lady Leps next game, that was originally scheduled for Saturday, has been rescheduled for Monday, December 20 at Alliance. JV starts at 6:00, Varsity Begins Approximately 7:30.
VIDEO:
JV REPORT:
After building a 36-20 lead at the end of three, the Lady Leopards JV team outscored West Branch 16-1 in the final period to take the game 52-21. Hanna Lemmon led all scorers with 10 points, while Jordan Monnot and Chandler Rice each poured in 9. Mackenzie Rankin opened up the fourth period with a quick pair of buckets, the second off a steal, and Nora Hmeidan had 6 points in the paint in the final quarter. In the first half, the two teams played to a 9-9 tie, before Louisville went on a 10-0 run and never looked back.
