LHS girls claim first win of new season
By KRIS BAGLEY sports@leader-news.com

L-N Photo by Kris Bagley Anticipating The Move Gabby Foster (left) puts pressure on East Bernard's guard during the fourth quarter of Louise's first win Tuesday. The Lady Hornets moved to 1-2 on the year.

The Lady Hornets earned their first win of the basketball season Tuesday when they hosted East Bernard.

Louise's 36-30 win was anchored by a strong rebounding game. Led by Katie Brown and Lauren Gresham's 9 rebounds, the Lady Hornets combined for a total 26 rebounds on the night. The extra chances at baskets helped Louise claim their win in a tight game.

Louise and the Brahmarettes played close through the first quarter.

East Bernard was able to hold the Lady Hornets in the first quarter and take an 8-5 advantage over Louise.

The second quarter, it was Louise's defense that played strong and took the lead from the Brahmarettes.

Louise's first basket came on an inbound play to freshman Katy Brown to cut East Bernard's lead to 8-7 with seven minutes remaining in the quarter.

Almost two minutes later, Louise scored again. Gabby Foster drove against the Brahmarette defense for a quick layup to go ahead 9-8.

With 3:37 left in the half, Foster helped Louise extend its lead. She found Lindsey Piwonka open under the basket for a quick bucket to put the Lady Hornets ahead 11-8.

The Brahmarettes answered with their only basket of the quarter to put the score at 11-10.

Louise rallied to out-score East Bernard 5-0 to end the quarter.

The final score of the half came on a quick play by sophomore guard Kirsten Machicek. She picked off East Bernard's guard for a steal and finished a fast break for a layup as time expired. Machicek's basket put Louise ahead 14-10 at halftime.

Brown led the Lady Hornet's offense with 8 third-quarter points and helped Louise take a bigger lead over East Bernard.

With a 17-12 lead and 5:32 to go, Brown out-muscled East Bernard for her first field goal of the quarter.

A quick shot by Brown under the basket rimmed out and she positioned herself for a rebound. Brown was persistent as she rebounded her own shot twice before coming through with a basket to give Louise a 19-12 lead.

Brown scored twice more on a layups and connected for a free throw to help Louise to a 25-16 advantage with one quarter left to play.

East Bernard charged back in the fourth quarter to challenge Louise.

After the Brahmarettes scored the first basket of the quarter, Lauren Gresham answered with a field goal on an inbounds play.

The Lady Hornets worked through a series of screens to get Gresham the ball, and she came through with a shot to put Louise ahead 27-18.

East Bernard rallied to outscore the Lady Hornets 10-6 over the next few minutes and put pressure on Louise's defense by cutting the lead to 33-28.

With 36 seconds left in the game, Louise came through with another score on good ball movement to secure the win.

Brown had the ball outside the key and found Foster open and running to the basket. She made a quick pass and Foster finished with a shot to move the score to 35-28. Brown later hit a free throw to put Louise up 36-28.

East Bernard made a shot at the buzzer to give the game its final score of 36-30 and the Lady Hornets their first win.

Louise's victory came after a pair of losses to Sealy and Schulenburg to open the season. The Lady Hornets moved to 1-2 after defeating East Bernard.