Déjà Vu Has Never Felt Sweeter! Lady Leps Stand Alone!
FULL VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS
Louisville 65, Canton South 46
February 9, 2011. The Lady Leopards knocked off the Canton South Wildcats 70-42 and claimed the 2010-11 NBC Title Outright.
FLASH FORWARD 364 DAYS. February 8, 2012. The Lady Leopards again take down the Canton South Wildcats 65-46 to claim their second straight Northeastern Buckeye Conference Outright Championship. Déjà Vu? A dream? Nope its reality. All the sweat, pain, and hard work that went into this past season has paid off for the girls in blue and white as they stand alone atop the NBC.
It was not the biggest game of the year, but on Wednesday night it was the most important. Most importantly the Lady Leopards finished. Briana Libertore scored 16 points, Molly Brown added 12, and 10 Louisville players all contributed points in their thirteenth NBC win of the year!
It wasn’t a brillant start defensively for the Lady Leps, but they more than made up for it on the offensive end. Mackenzie Storlie directed the offense and dished out 7 of her 9 assists in a first quarter that saw Louisville score 26 points. Brown and Libertore each hit one three-pointer a piece and combined for 12 points in a 26-16 opening quarter.
In the second period, Louisville flipped the co-championship switch off by holding the Wildcats to just 6 points in the period defensively. Libertore again had another big quarter with 7 points and Storlie dazzled the crowd with three baskets that included a buzzer beater layup. Louisville held a 45-22 lead at halftime.
The Leopards substitutes ran out the clock and closed the shop in the second half. Ironically, the Leopards won by the same deficit as they had against West Branch on Monday night. 65-46 was the final tally this time.
The Lady Leopards shook hands then huddled up on top of the new halfcourt logo. Then they exuberantly chanted “N-B-What? N-B-C!” repeatedly, just as they had done a year ago. Each girl on Varsity and JV got to cut down the nets and wore their NBC Title T-Shirts proudly.
The championship is the Lady Leps eighth NBC title all-time and twelfth league title overall. At Louisville the coaches, players, and fans have and will change over the years, but the legacy of Lady Leopards remains constant.
STATISTICS
WILDCATS: J. Martin 8 2-2 18, Jetter 6 2-3 16, H. Harris 2 0-0 4, B. Martin 1 2-2 4, Forshey 0 2-2 2, Uminski 1 0-0 2, Davidson 0 0-3 0. TOTALS 18 8-12 46.
TEAM FG: 18-44 41%
TEAM 3PT: 2-7 29% | Jetter (2)
TEAM FT: 8-12 67%
LEOPARDS: Libertore 6 3-4 16, Brown 5 1-1 12, Rice 3 0-0 7, Monnot 2 2-2 6, Radalia 3 0-0 6, Storlie 3 0-0 6, H. Lemmon 1 2-2 4, Risaliti 2 0-0 4, Hmeidan 1 0-0 2, C. Lemmon 1 0-0 2, Minster 0 0-2 0. TOTALS 26 6-9 65.
TEAM FG: 26-63 41%
TEAM 3PT: 3-8 38% | Brown (1), Libertore (1), Rice (1)
TEAM FT: 6-9 67%
Team 1-2-3-4-Total
Canton South 16-6-12-12–46
Louisville 26-19-12-8–65
Rebounds: Louisville 32-20
Fouls: Louisville 13-9
Turnovers: Canton South 14-11
Records: Louisville 15-4, 13-1; Canton South 4-15, 3-11
NEXT UP: The Lady Leps will next host the Canton Central Catholic Crusaders on Wednesday, February 15. JV will tip at 6:00 and Varsity will follow at approximately 7:30. This will be Senior Night so be sure to come out and support the Lady Leps as they play their final home game!
PICTURES
JV REPORT
Louisville 50, Canton South 32
The Lady Leopards JV Squad took care of business by beating Canton South 50-32 to finish 13-1 in the league and clinch a share of the JV NBC Title. Hollyann Mullett led all scorers with 10 points, while Nora Hmeidan and Mackenzie Rankin poured in 9 points a piece. South led 10-7 after the first quarter, but the Lady Leps out-scored the Wildcats 15-6 in the second period and never looked back after that. The Louisville defense forced 26 Canton South turnovers. M. Harris led all Wildcat scorers with 8 points, which included 2 three-point makes. Rachel Zeller also had 8 points for the 14-5 Leopards.
JV PICTURES
JV STATISTICS
WILDCATS: Harris 3 0-0 8, Forshey 2 2-2 6, Trissel 2 2-2 6, Johnson 2 0-2 4, Westmoreland 1 2-2 4, Morris 1 0-0 2, Norcia 1 0-0 2. TOTALS 12 6-8 32.
3PT: 2 | Harris (2)
TEAM FT: 6-8 75%
LEOPARDS: Mullett 4 1-2 10, Hmeidan 4 1-1 9, Rankin 4 1-2 9, Zeller 4 0-1 8, Paulus 2 0-0 5, Bartolet 2 0-0 4, Nees 1 0-0 2, Skolosh 1 0-0 2, Hamsher 0 1-2 1. TOTALS 22 4-8 50.
3PT: 2 | Mullett (1), Paulus (1)
TEAM FT: 4-8 50%
Team 1-2-3-4–Total
Canton South 10-6-6-10–32
Louisville 7-15-13-15–50
Fouls: 11-11
Turnovers: Canton South 26-13