Louisville Falls in Sectional Vs. Hudson, Finish 12-10 – Girls Basketball
#24 Hudson 43, #12 Louisville 21
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The #12 seed Louisville Leopards Girls Basketball Team fell victim to the visiting #24 seed Hudson Explorers 43-21 in their DI Northeast 3 Sectional Final game Friday Night at Louisville High School. With the loss, Louisville finishes the 2022-2023 season with a final record of 12-10.
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Barwick Scores Game High 11 For Leopards
Sophomore shooting guard Courtney Barwick hit a pair of three-pointers and scored a team high 11 points to lead the Lady Leopards. Senior shooting guard Taryn Miglich made a three-pointer for Louisville’s first points of the game and finished with 5 for the evening.
Long Ball Dominates 1st Quarter
After two and half minutes of scoreless basketball, senior forward Gracie Merrick put the Lady Explorers on the board with a three-pointer from the left corner. Miglich answered on the ensuing possession with a three-point make from the left corner to knot the game at 3-3.
A few minutes later, Hudson sophomore guard Erin McCormick canned a three from the right side of the arch to put Hudson back in front 6-3. The Explorers would never trail again. Junior guard Ella Kordos drilled a three from the top of the arch to make it 9-3 and in the final minute sophomore guard Corrine Stearns cashed in on a three-pointer from the left wing to put Hudson ahead 12-6.
The two teams combined for 6 three-pointers and these were the only field goals made in the opening period The only points from within the arch came with 3.8 seconds left in the first quarter when Barwick was fouled shooting at the edge of the arch. She sunk both shots from the line to get Louisville to within 12-8 at the end of the first.
Hudson Outscores Louisville 16-0 in 2nd
Hudson continued to pour it on in the second quarter with another round of 4 three-pointers from 4 different players. Senior guard Emily Henderson, senior forward Emma Hileman, Kordos, and Merrick all hit from beyond the arch in the period The Explorers would blank the Leopards in the second quarter 16-0 en rout to taking a commanding 28-8 halftime advantage.
Louisville went cold from the floor as they failed to score in the second quarter as part of a longer 11:05 scoring drought. Barwick hit the back end of a pair of free throws with a little under 5 minutes remaining in the third quarter to end the spell.
Altogether the Leopards went nearly 2 full quarters without scoring from the floor. Barwick’s three-pointer from the top of the key with 1:13 left in the first quarter was Louisville’s last field goal before senior center Olivia Mayle made a short jumper from the right side of the key with 1:22 to go in the third.
Leopards Avoid Tournament Low Score
Hudson would lead 35-11 at the end of three quarters and increased their lead to as much as 43-15. The outcome was decided, but the Leopards kept fighting. Louisville would score the final 6 points of the game and outscore Hudson 10-8 in the final stanza.
It may not have seemed significant at the time, but freshman shooting guard Taylor McCully’s fast break layup with around 45 seconds to play allowed the Leopards to avoid a historical low. The bucket put Louisville over the 20-point mark eclipsing their all-time low postseason score. The Leopards lost to Canton South 46-20 loss on March 9, 1977. That game was the first postseason contest in Lady Leopards Basketball history.
Merrick Leads Explorers with Game High 11
Merrick hit a pair of three-pointers and scored in every quarter on her way to finishing with a game high 11 for Hudson. Kordos made 3 of the Explorer’s 10 three-pointers in the game in scoring 9. McCormick also hit a pair of threes to add 6 to the HHS total.
Hudson is now 2-0 against Louisville all-time. The Explorers beat the Leopards on a buzzer beater 55-53 in last year’s sectional semifinal at LHS. The Lady Leopards are now 46-47 all-time in the postseason, which includes a 7-16 record since entering Division I in 2008. They are 2-3 at home during that stretch and 6-5 all-time in the postseason when playing within the confines of Louisville High School.
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Hudson at Louisville Sectional Final Statistics
EXPLORERS 43, LEOPARDS 21
Team 1-2-3-4–TOTAL
Hudson 12-16-7-8–43
Louisville 8-0-3-10–21
EXPLORERS: Merrick 4 1-1 11, Kordos 3 0-0 9, McCormick 2 0-0 6, Henderson 2 0-0 5, Lightner 2 0-0 4, Hileman 1 0-0 3, Stearns 1 0-0 3, Sutton 1 0-0 2. TOTAL 16 1-1 43.
3-Pointers (10): Kordos 3, McCormick 2, Merrick 2, Henderson, Hileman, Stearns
Team FT: 1-1 100%
LEOPARDS: Barwick 3 3-4 11, Miglich 2 0-0 5, Mayle 1 0-0 2, McCully 1 0-0 2. TOTAL 7 4-6 21.
3-Pointers (3): Barwick 2, Miglich
Team FT: 4-6 67%
Fouls: 7-6 Louisville
Records: Louisville 12-10
