Louisville Falls to New Philadelphia in Overtime – Girls Basketball
New Philadelphia 65, Louisville 62, OT
The Louisville Leopards Girls Varsity Basketball Team fell in overtime 65-62 against the visiting New 
Philadelphia Quakers 65-62 Monday Night at Louisville High School. With the loss, Louisville falls to 12-6 on the year.
Abby Beaver scored a team-high 19 points and dished out a game-high 5 assists to lead the Lady Leopards. Sarah Lairson also finished with 15 points and Danielle Walter scored 11 for Louisville. Erin Hahn and Lairson also tallied a game-high 4 steals a piece.
The two teams traded leads throughout the night. The Quakers led 17-13 at the end of the first, but the Leopards used a 16-6 second quarter to take a 29-23 lead by halftime. New Philadelphia re-gained the lead by taking the third quarter 15-7, but Louisville rallied back to take the lead in the fourth quarter.
The Leopards held a slim lead and Beaver extended it to 53-50 by hitting a pair of free throws with 35 seconds remaining. The Quakers answered to cut the lead to 53-52 before Beaver was again fouled with only 9 seconds to play. She sustained her ability to be clutch by hitting the pair.
Donate to Leopard Nation
On the other end, New Philadelphia knotted the game at 55-55 with a three-pointer. The Quakers player 
was also fouled during the shot putting her on the line for a rare 4-point play opportunity. The shot rimmed out and the game went to overtime.
The two teams played a chess match through the first half of the extra period as the game remained tied at 56-all. Finally, New Philadelphia took control of the game taking a 59-56 lead. They would not surrender it again, although Walter canned a three to put Louisville to within one at 62-61 with less than 47 seconds left to play.
The Quakers were led by Alayna Harstine who finished with a game-high 20 points. Lexee Miller also scored 15 points and Sarah Harr added 13 for New Philadelphia.
The Quakers outshot the Leopards 48% (18 of 37) to 38% (17 of 44) from the field. New Philadelphia held a slight 24-22 edge in rebounding led by Miller who pulled down 7. Walter also finished with a game-high 7 boards and Alexa Oberster recorded 6 for Louisville.
With the loss, the Leopards have dropped 5 of their last 6 meetings with the Quakers. New Philadelphia leads the all-time series 7-4, which includes a 4-1 record for the Quakers in games played at Louisville. The Lady Leopards are now 2-5 in out of conference play this season.
UP NEXT: The Lady Leopards will next host the Minerva Lions on Wednesday, February 1. JV will begin at 6:00 PM and Varsity will follow around 7:30 PM.
JV: New Philadelphia 42, Louisville 38
Pictures
Cover Photo By Jim & Laura Photography
View & Purchase Louisville Leopards Pictures on the Jim & Laura Photography Website
