 Sunday's 69-63 Lady Lynx win over Illinois College's junior varsity
squad certainly defied any logical explanation by at least one
measure:Lincoln College finished the game with a whopping 38
turnovers -- and still found a way to win their 10th game of the
season.
"Maybe it was because it was on a Sunday afternoon. I really have
no idea," said Wilson of Sunday's game. "This was like night and day
after the game we played on Friday. That night, our passes were just
perfect. We read the floor, saw the open person and hit them right
in the hands.
"Then today, the ball seemed like it was everywhere except for
where it needed to be. Way, way too many turnovers. And we played
terrible on defense at times, with no help defense at all. We let
them go wherever they wanted to. But we won. I don't know how to
explain it."
While the Lady Lynx (10-6) surrendered too many easy shots for
Wilson's liking, they were able to help balance the offense's
turnover issues by forcing turnovers from their opponents. Illinois
College finished the game with 29 turnovers.
As frustrating as the game was for Wilson, the Lady Lynx and
their fans, Lincoln never trailed in the contest.
Much of the credit for that could go to sophomore forward Ally
Friday, who hit back-to-back 3-pointers in the opening minutes to
help LC to a 9-3 advantage. The Lady Lynx would maintain that margin
for the remainder of the first half, pulling away to a 36-25 lead at
intermission.
The second half started almost exactly like the first, with
Friday once again draining back-to-back 3-pointers. Her second trey
gave the Lady Lynx a 42-25 advantage, their largest lead of the
game.
But, for remainder of the second half, LC was outscored 38-27.
If not for Friday's 3-point shooting, it might have been an
entirely different game.
[to top of second column] |
"Ally played well. The last time we played them, Ally put us on
her back too," said Wilson. "The last time we played them, Ally had
27 points and really rose to the occasion. This time, it was the
same kind of game. She knocked down some big shots today that really
helped us."
Friday led LC with 16 points. Freshman guard Cassidy Jennings
added 13 points, while freshman forward Shannon Hall had 11 points
for the Lady Lynx, who also got eight points and 10 rebounds from
sophomore forward Erika Spiller.
It was the second win over a junior varsity squad in three days
for LC, who defeated MacMurray College's junior varsity on Friday
night. The Lady Lynx will play their third junior varsity opponent
Monday night, when they take on the junior varsity squad from
Millikin University.
Wilson said playing the junior varsity teams this week has two
primary benefits.
"The benefits of this week are twofold. First of all, those teams
will throw different things at us than we've seen thus far from
other teams," said Wilson. "That helps prepare us for our conference
games.
"The other thing is, it allows my girls to play in front of a
Division III opponent that maybe they can play for after they're
done playing for me. But, the main thing right now is help us
prepare for Saturday."
Saturday is when the Lady Lynx begin Mid-West Athletic Conference
play, taking on Parkland Community College at home.
Wilson is hoping for some improvement before then.
"We got a win today, and to an extent, that's all that matter,"
said Wilson. "But we need to be playing better."
[By JUSTIN TIERNEY]
|
