Afton Gray (right) looks for an outlet after stealing the ball from Louisburg's Lindsey Stacks early in the first quarter of the Anderson County Class 4A Sub-State Tournament championship game at Garnett Saturday night. Gray got the ball to Joce Allen, who scored a layup. (Special to the Tribune/Tom Braker) [Click to enlarge]

GARNETT -- Not that Fort Scott High's girls needed it, but a poster put up on the front of Louisburg's locker room door provided a bit of extra incentive as the Tigers prepared to play the championship game of the Anderson County Class 4A Sub-State Basketball Tournament here Saturday night.

The poster, which appeared to be a string of comments from an Internet forum, bragged that the Tigers couldn't handle what Louisburg -- nay, the entire Frontier League -- brings to the table.

The Tigers handled Louisburg, the tournament's top seed, by a final score of 47-38, holding the Wildcats, ranked No. 8 in Class 4A by the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association, to one-of-seven field-goal shooting in the fourth quarter.

"It's just such a pleasure to coach these girls," Fort Scott head coach Jeff Armstrong said. "It's an honor. Louisburg came and played hard. Our girls matched it and it's amazing how much heart there is in these girls.

"The girls aren't satisfied with this. That's what's so special about them."

The win puts Fort Scott's girls in the Class 4A State Tournament -- which begins Wednesday -- for the first time since 2004, when they lost to Abilene in the first round. The Tigers (17-5) -- who have lost four games to three teams that won at least 20 games this season -- were given the No. 7 seed and will face second-seeded Andover Central (23-0) in the third first-round game of the day, which is scheduled for a 6:30 tip.

Andover Central is one of three undefeated teams at State -- Abilene and Colby are the others. The tourney field is so deep that Labette County (21-2) is seeded sixth and has to play Abilene at 8:15 Wednesday.

"There's not going to be any bad teams out there," Armstrong said. "We're going to have to go out and play our 'A' game. We're going to have to play our best basketball but I think we can be competitive with any of those teams that are out there."

The Sub-State final was a hard-fought affair between well-matched teams. But, ironically, it may have been the toughness of the Frontier League that handicapped Louisburg (19-4) when it came to crunch time.

Thursday night, Louisburg could have blown league rival Ottawa away at least two different times. Instead, the Cyclones scrapped back each time and lost by one point as a last-second layup didn't quite hit the mark. Earlier in the night, Fort Scott had an easier time with Burlington and was able to give some of its starters a bit of rest in the fourth quarter.

Saturday, the game was tied 31-31 going into the final stanza and each team scored to open the fourth. But what Louisburg couldn't have known at the time was that Taylor Brown's layup, which tied the score at 33-33 with 6:32 remaining, would be it's last field goal of the night.

The Tigers might have pulled away sooner but for three offensive fouls called early in the period. One of them was on point guard Joce Allen, which was her fourth. That meant Brittany Bingesser had to come in and help run things in crunch time.

Bingesser has been showing that she's quite capable in running things this season. Thus, Allen had no worries when she had to come out.

"I have trust in my teammates," Allen said. "I was OK sitting on the bench. I know they can do it."

Fort Scott's Kori Page Rienbolt (22) takes the shot that put the Tigers ahead for good over Louisburg's Taylor Brown early in the fourth quarter of Saturday night's Class 4A Sub-State championship game at Garnett. Rienbolt scored 20 points for the Tigers, who defeated Louisburg, 47-38. (Special to the Tribune/Tom Braker) [Click to enlarge]

Kori Page Rienbolt broke the tie with a jump shot with 5:45 to go. Moments later, Hannah Hawkins picked up a steal and fed Rienbolt for a layup that made it 37-33.

Louisburg got back within two points on a pair of free throws by post Katelynn O'Hara. But the Tigers went on to score the next five points, building the lead up to 42-35 with 1:11 remaining.

After that, it was all free throws.

"This is what you dream about," Hawkins said. "You play summer ball and then you play four years and you play for this and now we're going to State."

"It's amazing," senior post Elizabeth Meech said. "Being out there on the court for that last minute was just the most amazing feeling."

The last stop on the road to Salina wasn't going to be easy and the girls knew it. Louisburg's poster -- we don't know for sure if it was put up by the team or an overzealous fan -- may have been an attempt to motivate the Wildcats after barely escaping Ottawa. The Tigers, however, know they're as good as any team around and didn't need such things.

Senior wing Afton Gray said the attitude expressed in the poster was carried over to the court by the Wildcats. And after getting hit in the face by the ball after a Louisburg player threw it in her face in front of an oblivious official in the fourth quarter, she had to come out for a little bit. But she came back in later and remained cool -- as did all the redclads on a night in which the officials let the players play.

"They were talking trash out there," senior wing Afton Gray said. "But we kept our cool. We know it's the team that keeps its composure that will win."

"It was so physical," Hawkins said. "They let so much go."

The Tigers scored the game's first four points, all off turnovers. Hawkins fed Gray for the opening score and Gray's steal led to a layup by Allen.

Louisburg came back to take the lead briefly -- only one of two times in the game it would be in front -- on O'Hara's bank shot and a three-pointer from Lindsey Stacks.

A 16-foot jumper from Rienbolt sparked a 13-4 run that ended the period. Jolee Sharp's layup made it 17-9 going into the second period.

O'Hara, one of Louisburg's pair of 5' 11" post players, helped Louisburg get back into the game at the start of the second period by hitting a pair of baskets in an opening 6-0 run. The Tigers struggled from the field early and didn't get on the board until Rienbolt's jumper in the paint made it 19-16 with 3:26 to go.

Hannah Hawkins (23 red) scores over Louisburg's Katelynn O'Hara to give the Tigers a two-point lead late in the second quarter. (Special to the Tribune/Tom Braker) [Click to enlarge]

Brown took a steal in for a layup with 2:15 to go to tie the score at 19-19. Hawkins scored a layup on a pass from Gray with 1:34 left. Brown tied it again with a jumper before Allen knocked in a three-pointer from the left wing moments later. A free throw by Rienbolt with 15 seconds left made it a 25-21 lead going into the locker room.

After missing its first six field-goal tries of the period, Fort Scott connected on three of its last four.

Rienbolt scored a layup to start the second half. But Allen also drew her third personal in the early moments and had to come out. Louisburg took advantage and went on a 9-1 run that began when Stacks hit a three-point shot in transition with 5:19 to go.

After Maurissa Shaffer capped the run with 4:03 to go, giving Louisburg a 30-28 lead, the Wildcat's offense disappeared. Louisburg scored only one more point in the quarter.

Rienbolt forged a 31-31 tie with 53 seconds left in the period when she drove on Abbey Frazier, Louisburg's other big post player, who had three fouls.

The two post players Louisburg has -- O'Hara starts; Frazier comes off the bench -- promised to present some problems. But Hawkins, at 5' 8", is often defending players three or four -- or even more -- inches taller than her and Meech's maturation over the course of the past month has made her a more-than-adequate defender against those type of players.

And with the way the Tigers play defense, Hawkins and Meech don't have to do it by themselves.

"I had help from Joce and Jolee and Kori Page and everybody," Hawkins said. "We know we can play those big girls like that."

Hawkins fouled out late in the game but she and Meech had already forced O'Hara to foul out. That left a confident Meech against Frazier, who is only a sophomore.

"I was nervous," Meech said of her assignment Saturday. "But I've played against those kind of girls before and against (Kendra) Frazier (of Labette County). We knew we could play them."

O'Hara scored 11 points and had 13 rebounds for Louisburg but scored only a pair of free throws in the fourth quarter. Frazier only scored one point all night.

And while the Tiger defense was forcing bad shots, it was also causing turnovers -- Louisburg committed nine in the final stanza.

"One of the ways that we win is by playing defense." Armstrong said. "And they stuck to it. The girls knew that in the third and the fourth, we can get Louisburg tired out and they're going to make mistakes. They aren't going to be able to get the ball to the post players. And that's exactly what happened. With the help from the guards, we can play with against anybody if we play like that."

Rienbolt made eight of 10 shots from the field in leading the Tigers with 20 points. Allen finished with 10 points.

The Tigers shot 46 percent from the field as they made 18 of 39 field-goal attempts. Louisburg shot 30 percent on 14 of 47 as it went just three of 19 from three-point range.

Fort Scott outrebounded the Wildcats, 34-29, with Sharp hauling down 10 boards.

After the game, parents gathered outside the locker room ready with hugs and congratulations. And Allen had some words of encouragement from people with experience -- her sisters, Jacki and Lauren, were on the 2004 State team.

"Yeah, keeping up the family tradition," Allen said. "My sisters went and now I'm going. I don't know how it will feel when we go out there. You just have to go out and play."

(2) FORT SCOTT: Gray 2-8 0-0 4, J.Allen 3-6 2-2 10, Sharp 3-10 1-4 7,Simpson 0-0 0-0 0, Rienbolt 8-10 4-13 20, Hawkins 2-2 0-0 4, Bingesser 0-0 2-2 2, R.Allen 0-0 0-0 0, Meech 0-3 0-0 0. TOTALS: 18-39 9-21 47.

(1) LOUISBURG: Shaffer 2-6 0-0 4, Dailey 1-5 0-0 2, Mullich 0-4 0-0 0, Stacks 3-8 0-0 9, O'Hara 4-11 3-4 11, Noble 0-3 2-2 2, Brown 4-9 1-4 9, Frazier 0-1 1-2 1. TOTALS: 14-47 7-13 38.

Fort Scott................ 17 8 6 16 -- 47

Louisburg............... 9 12 10 7 -- 38

Three-point field goals: Fort Scott 2-7 (J.Allen 2-7, Sharp 0-1, Gray 0-3), Louisburg 3-19 (Stacks 3-7, o'Hara 0-1, Brown 0-1, Mullich 0-3, Noble 0-3, Dailey 0-4).

Total fouls: Fort Scott 16, Louisburg 22. Fouled out: Hawkins, O'Hara.

Rebounds: Louisburg 29 (O'Hara 13), Fort Scott 34 (Sharp 10). Assists: Louisburg 5 (Shaffer 2), Fort Scott 9 (Gray 3). Turnovers: Louisburg 24, Fort Scott 21. Steals: Louisburg 12 (Stacks 4), Fort Scott 10 (Rienbolt 3). Blocked shots: Louisburg 2 (O'Hara, Frazier), Fort Scott 3 (Sharp 2).