Girls Basketball Alone in 1st After 2nd Half Rally Vs. Carrollton
Louisville 42, Carrollton 31
The Louisville Lady Leopards Girls Varsity Basketball team used a second half rally to down the visiting Carrollton Warriors 42-31 at LHS Saturday Afternoon. The victory leaves Louisville alone in first place in the NBC with an overall record of 9-1 and an NBC mark of 7-0.
Abby Beaver led the Leopards with a game-high 12 points, 7 rebounds, and a game-high 4 steals. Sabryna Benzel also pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds & scored 8 points, Emily Hollifield added 8 points & had 2 steals, and Sarah Lairson finished with 8 points, 9 rebounds, & 1 monster block.
The Warriors took an early 9-2 lead in the opening minutes and led by as many as 9 in the first half. Louisville narrowed the deficit to 18-13 by halftime, but Carrollton surged ahead to 22-15 before Leopards Head Coach Garee McCully called timeout with 6:16 left in the third quarter.
Louisville regrouped during the stoppage and scored the next three baskets. Beaver stopped and popped for the first field goal. She followed by intercepting a Warrior pass on the other end and pushed it ahead to Hollifield who drove hard to the rack for two more. A few plays later, Benzel hustled after a Carrollton miss and tipped it to Beaver. A fast break ensued and Beaver’s magic continued with a cross the lane pass to Alexa Oberster who laid it. That cut the deficit to 22-21.
The Warriors tacked on a free throw next, but were held scoreless from the field for a span of 4:06 during the stretch. Lairson added a putback for the Leopards to knot the game at 23-23. Then Mikayla Poole stopped the bleeding with a drive and score to put Carrollton back in front 25-23 with 2:10 left to play in the third.
On the ensuing possession, Beaver hit a trey from the right wing to give Louisville their first lead of the contest. The Warriors tied the game at 26-26 before the buzzer sounded indicating the end of the third. However, Beaver hit home another three-pointer from the left corner to open up the scoring in the fourth.
Following that, a pair of Grace Jackson free throws extended the Leopards lead to 31-26 with 5:32 left to play. The Warriors would get as close as 31-29 from a basket by Cailee Husted with under four minutes to go. But baskets by Lairson and Hollifield kick started an 11-0 Louisville run to bury Carrollton’s comeback hopes.
Despite a height disadvantage, the Leopards out-rebounded the Warriors 37-29 for the game. Neither team shot well from the floor, but Louisville also held that edge by making 15 of 51 (29%) field goals to Carrollton’s 12 of 55 (22%) effort. Each team shot just 14% from beyond the arch for the game as well.
The Warriors (10-5, 6-1) were led by Mikayla Poole who scored a team-high 10. Angela Starre also finished with 8 points & 8 rebounds, Ali Poole recorded 5 points & 4 steals, and Roz Pridemore ended the afternoon with a game-high 10 boards for Carrollton.
The Lady Leopards victory snaps a string of 5-straight previous losses to the Warriors. Louisville now leads the all-time series 35-21, which includes 20-9 record at LHS. The win also marks the fourth time that the Leopards have won after trailing at the half this season.
UP NEXT: The Lady Leopards will next host the Canfield Cardinals on Wednesday, January 6. JV will begin at 6:00 PM and Varsity will follow around 7:30 PM.
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