The Cardinals basketball teams both knocked off Louisburg Tuesday night.
The girls basketball team started off hot, jumping out to a 16-0 lead early and never looking back on the way to a 61-34 win.
“I think we did a really good job of continuing even with that big of a lead,” senior Allison Allison said. “It’s easier to play down to a team’s level, and I think we did a really good job of sticking to our offense and making sure we’re getting to the place we need to be.”
The Cardinals slowed down a bit in the second quarter, leading to some defensive lapses, but resparked their energy to close out the game in the second half.
“We knew that they weren’t very confident with the ball tonight, so our guards pushing up and pressuring them was really big for us,” senior Miranda Kuntz said.
The win comes just days after the Cardinals advanced to the finals of the Tonganoxie tournament. Head coach Brandon Parker said the Cardinals moved the ball much better Tuesday.
“You know, this team is just, it’s a real connected group, and they enjoy playing,” Parker said. “They don’t care who gets credit or whatever. They’re looking to make the play. And I think they know everyone’s strengths, their own strengths and their teammates’ strengths, and they try to build on that.”
The boys basketball team had a much slower start to their battle with Louisburg, failing to pull ahead early before finding their footing on the way to a 65-46 win.
“It was pretty sloppy,” senior Errol Siemon said. “Second half, we definitely came out stronger. But overall, we need to get better.”
After going into halftime tied, a 10-0 run to start the second half spurred the Cardinals to the win. After some Eudora foul trouble kept it close, a flurry of 3-pointers to start the fourth quarter sealed the game.
“Just having more toughness than the first half, because we were pretty soft the first half,” senior Jackson Smith said. “And then we just had to get in there and rebound, and we did in the second half.”
The Cardinals will head to Ottawa for a matchup with the No. 1-ranked Cyclones.
“We’ve got Ottawa coming up and if we’re not focused, we can get down in a hurry,” head coach Tyler Cleveland said. “They’re a pretty good basketball team. So, focus will be on defense for sure this week, and rebounding.”
