The North Callaway girls found themselves playing catchup in the fourth quarter on Thursday night at home.

North Callaway vs Louisiana Photo Gallery

The Ladybirds made Eastern Missouri Conference Louisiana catch up after owning a 41-31 lead in the third quarter, but the Lady Bulldogs took a 55-45 lead and then defeated North Callaway 61-55. It is North Callaway’s first loss to Louisiana (3-3, 2-0 EMO) after nine straight wins in the rivalry, which happened after being outscored 26-14 in the fourth quarter and allowing the Lady Bulldogs to shoot 10-for-16 from the free throw line in the quarter.

Head coach Andrew Klein said he is proud of North Callaway’s defensive effort. The Ladybirds (3-5, 1-2 EMO) had a 41-35 lead going into the fourth quarter. However, Jordan Pederson finished with a game-high 20 points and three 3-pointers to lead Louisiana’s biggest scoring effort of the season.

“One thing we've got to do better is block out and quit giving them second chances on defense,” Klein said. “(Pederson) hit a couple big shots and got to the hole and scored tough layups. Sometimes, good players make good shots, and defense really doesn't stand a chance against better offense."

Louisiana has shown some improvement in recent years, coming off back-to-back non-losing seasons after 11 straight years of losing seasons. The Lady Bulldogs this season have only lost by single digits, including two against eight-win Class 3 teams Highland and Monroe City.

Reece Wommack scored 10 of her 15 points in the fourth quarter and also hit 4-of-6 free throws during that time. Cyrinity Chatman rounded out Louisiana’s double-digit scorers with 10 points.

“They have some big guards that can get downhill and score at the rim,” Klein said. “They can also shoot it. Sometimes, it’s hard to defend a guard that does that. A hand up really isn’t a hand up. When you’re 5-foot-11 and shooting and our guards are 5-foot-7, even a hand up isn’t enough to stop them.”

Those guards knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers and padded the lead with free throws but not before North Callaway almost erased the 20-point swing. Sisters Anna and Natalie Shryock hit back-to-back 3-pointers to bring the Ladybirds within a bucket but couldn’t come any closer.

Natalie Shryock led North Callaway with 15 points and four 3-pointers, Lakyn Hartley followed with nine points and five assists, and Kymorie Myers had seven points and 12 rebounds. Klein said coming back can be especially tough after losing a big lead.

“It’s important that we continue to play and roll with the punches,” Klein said. “Being able to play up 10 and down 10 and play the same way — hard — is important. I think we did that. Unfortunately, they made a few more shots than us.”

Louisiana turned the ball over 11 times but only had the ball stolen away four times. Klein said North Callaway tried to swipe the ball with around 20 seconds left while down a bucket, but Louisiana did not make a mistake going the full length of the court and hit free throws after an intentional foul.

“We were thinking trap or steal first and then foul,” Klein said. “Credit to them and (Wommack) as well for making free throws down the stretch. That put the game away. Making free throws down the stretch is hard.”

Louisiana did finish with nine offensive rebounds, but Myers had seven to her credit. In the past three games, Myers had a season-best performance against Macon with 16 points and seven rebounds but was a bigger force on the boards against Louisiana. The seven offensive rebounds was one shy of her career-high achieved last season against Mark Twain, when Myers also had 12 total rebounds.

“She’s really come along,” Klein said. “We’re just keeping her positive while she keeps learning the game. She does a great job knowing her role. She rebounds the ball hard, and she’s starting to score a little bit too.”

North Callaway plays at Hallsville (2-4) at 6 p.m. Jan. 3 after the Christmas break.

“We’re going to be really tough to beat once we put everything else together,” Klein said.