DesotoExplorer.com

The De Soto girls basketball team was boiling over with confidence Tuesday, a fact illustrated by no one better than sophomore forward Katie Williams.

Williams has been instrumental in the Wildcats' gameplan all season. Still, her mid-third quarter pull-up jumper from near the three-point line while on the road at Louisburg was something new.

She swished the shot, helping a resurgent De Soto to a second-half lead. None of the good tidings proved enough, however, and the team fell 46-41.

"I saw it open, so I shot it," Williams said. "We haven't lost our confidence. During practice and during games, we've tried to stay up.

"There were a couple passes here or there we'd like to take back from (Tuesday), but we're still confident."

De Soto, which enjoyed a 10-day break after snapping a seven-game losing streak Jan. 19 against Atchison, continued to do many things well.

The Cats quickly got a number of Louisburg's better players in foul trouble and took a one-point lead, 26-25, into the locker room at half-time .

They played with patience at times throughout the game, yet still consistently took the action at Louisburg.

The team will have to play better to walk away satisfied, however.

It gets a chance to finish the job against a Frontier League opponent at 6 p.m. Friday with a trip to Spring Hill.

"We've had so many kids out sick - one day last week we had five girls out," De Soto coach Dwight Spencer said. "I was a little nervous, but the kids came out and responded well.

"Hopefully we go and practice hard and try to get a little better and play a little smarter at Spring Hill."

It's not hard to pick out the things the Cats did well Tuesday against Louisburg.

Shelbi Petty, Tami Crow, Barbara Hartz and Williams also got on the board in the first quarter and that same group helped the team maintain its lead in the third and fourth.

Hartz put back an offensive rebound for a 29-27 advantage, then Williams scored and made two free throws to erase a Louisburg rally and put De Soto up 35-32.

De Soto tried to nurse the lead in the fourth quarter. Hartz - one of the tallest players on either team and also one of the best ball handlers - took full advantage of a mismatch. She waited at the top of the key dribbling the ball, then cut into the lane on three separate possessions.

She spun and dished the ball to Williams, setting up the sophomore forward's long basket.

She drove, spun, then continued forward for a basket on the ensuing possession.

"We came out knowing we could win and we took that momentum into the game," Williams said. "We played well. We were taking it at them."

She finally missed on the third consecutive trip. Louisburg counted two free throws when it got the ball back, then added a three-pointer moments later. De Soto, meanwhile, managed only two points in the final five minutes of the game, one coming on a Williams free throw with 15 seconds remaining.

De Soto's once-patient offense gave way to hasty passes and jaw-clinching turnovers and it's lead quickly evaporated and turned into a deficit.

"It was a game we should have won, but we didn't score down the stretch," Spencer said. "It's tough to shut people out.

"We got nervous and gave up a few turnovers. We still need to learn to be a more patient team."

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