|
 Across the gym sat a sparse crowd of Bulldog fans and a small
student cheering section from Highland, a community located near the
metro St. Louis area. Railer Nation was certainly louder than the
Bulldog fans but it was the small group from Highland that got
invited to rush the court and gather around the winning team with
the presentation Super-sectional Championship plaque following the
game.
That might have been the scene Monday night but given the talent the
Lady Railers have returning next year, their fans may get that
invite in the future.
Despite the 48-40 loss the Lady Railers have had an incredible
season and Head Coach Taylor Richmond told the team just that, and
more, in the locker room following the game.
When asked what she told the girls, she answered, “That we had an
incredible season. That they earned so much. That they changed the
face of girls basketball in Lincoln, Illinois, forever, and that was
in large part due to their work ethic and what they’re capable of
doing on the basketball floor. I couldn’t be more proud of them.
They’re not quitters. They keep fighting and fighting and fighting.
That’s what I love about these kids. They are going to fight to the
end. Even if it doesn’t come out the way we hope it does, they’re
never gonna give up.”
At the start of the game Monday night things certainly did not go
the way Railer fans had hoped. Early on Kaelyn Froebe had more fouls
than points. She got the first foul of the game at the 6:56 mark and
then as she was going coast to coast for a layup she was called for
a charge, her second foul, at the 6:32 mark.
Once Highland got on the scoreboard around the 6:00 mark they
proceeded to go on an 8-0 run while Lincoln struggled to get a
basket. Finally with 1:57 on the clock in the first quarter, Kennedy
Lolling connected from downtown and put Lincoln on the board, 8-3
the score.
Highland continued pouring in points, with Alex LaPorta leading the
way with 8 points in the first quarter and the Bulldogs were out to
a 12-3 lead.
Kennedy Lolling dropped in her second three of the quarter to cut
the lead in half and as the first quarter came to a close Lincoln
trailed 12-6.
Madison Wellen came out strong for Highland in the second quarter
scoring the first five points to give Highland a 17-6 lead, then it
was LaPorta again with the bucket in the lane that extended the lead
to 19-6.
Finally at the 3:38 mark Hannah Cameron was able to drive baseline
and dish off a nice pass to Morgan Lolling, who banked it in and
closed the gap to 19-8.
Seconds later Hailie Williams launched a three that was nothing but
net and Railer Nation went wild as the Bulldog lead was cut down to
19-11.
Then it was Morgan Lolling chipping away at the lead as her basket
was good with 2:19 on the clock and the Lady Railers, who never give
up, were coming back, 19-13 the score.
Following a traveling violation on Highland, Lincoln had the ball
back and a chance to get even closer. Williams again came through
with the three and just like that with 1:47 left to play in the
half, the Lady Railers were right back in the contest, trailing
19-16.
A foul on Morgan Lolling would put Wellen at the line with 55.1
seconds left and she made both shots to extend the lead to 21-16 for
Highland.
That would be all of the scoring in the first half. The Lady Railers
headed to the locker room as every Railer fan was on their feet
cheering the girls and their great first half comeback.
After LaPorta sank a couple free throws early in the third quarter,
Grace Bossingham came back with a nice move in the lane and the
basket that allowed the Lady Railers to keep pace, 23-18 the score.
Amanda Ponce then stretched the lead to 25-18 with her basket for
Highland.
Around the 4:00 mark Froebe missed an attempt at a three but hustled
to get her own rebound and drove baseline for a reverse layup that
was good and the end result was a 25-20 score.
Seconds later Lincoln got possession of the ball again and this time
Kennedy Lolling took the ball to the basket for a layup and the
crowd roared as she made the score 25-22.
Lincoln got the ball back yet again after a foul was committed by
LaPorta and this time the Lady Railers had a solid opportunity to
tie the game. Froebe’s attempt at the three for the tie failed,
though, and the Bulldogs got the rebound.
A charging foul was called at the other end on Ponce and again it
was Lincoln ball. This time as the Lady Railers were coming
downcourt a pass intended for Kennedy Lolling in the corner sailed
way beyond her reach and again the ladies missed an opportunity at
tying the game.
At the other end LaPorta got the offensive rebound and put it back
up for two points and broke about a two-minute scoring drought and
extended the Bulldogs lead to 27-22.
Around the 2:00 mark Froebe would pick up her third foul, a charging
call as she drove to the basket. Highland scored two more baskets in
the third quarter, taking advantage of a couple Lady Railer mistakes
and go up 31-22 with around a minute to play in the quarter. Froebe
though would pump up the crowd as she finally hit a three with :19
seconds left in the third quarter.
With the third quarter coming to a close, Highland still held a
31-25 lead, but remember the Lady Railers are not quitters.
It would be Highland ball to start the final quarter and Ponce would
get the scoring started for the Bulldogs. But Cameron answered back
quickly for the Lady Railers with a basket off the pass down under
from Froebe, 34-27 now the score.
Froebe hit a long two to cut the deficit to 34-29 at the 4:00 mark
and Railer Nation was fired up.
That apparently ignited Cameron and she fought her way through the
lane for two points and the lead was now down to 34-31 in favor of
the Bulldogs.
Quickly at the other end Ponce scored and again the lead was back to
five points, 36-31, in favor of the Bulldogs.
Then a foul on Ponce, her fourth, put Kennedy Lolling at the line.
She calmingly sank both shots and the Lady Railers continued to hang
in there, 36-33 the score with 3:02 left to play.
Then somehow, Ponce lost the ball near the baseline at the other end
and it was Lincoln’s possession again. This time Cameron would drive
the lane and get fouled and step to the line. She bounced in the
first shot good as the gym fell quiet, well kinda, but she missed
the second shot off the front of the rim. Nonetheless Lincoln was
still within two points and a lot of ballgame left to play.
[to top of second column] |
Kennedy Lolling picked up her fourth foul at this point and that
sent Ponce to the line. She made one to extend the Highland lead to
37-34.
Meanwhile at Lincoln’s end, Kennedy Lolling put up a shot that
missed but Cameron got the rebound and was clobbered on her way back
up to the basket. The foul sent her to the free throw line and the
senior missed both free throws.
From here on out there were a lot of fouls and the crowd quieted
down as Kennedy Lolling fouled out with 1:53 remaining Ponce went to
the line again and again she made one shot.
But with the score 38-34 Cameron drove the lane for the Lady Railers
and the senior came through with the basket to make the score 38-36
with 1:46 showing on the clock.
Froebe would pick up her fourth foul at the other end at the 1:16
mark while Ponce stepped to the free throw line and tossed in two
buckets to extend the lead to 40-36.
Following a miss by Froebe at Lincoln’s end, Highland ended up with
the rebound and the Lady Railers’ Williams had to foul quickly.
Ponce went to the line again and made both shots and the lead was
now 42-36 for Highland.
Again, in the next Lincoln possession, the Lady Railers tried to get
off a good shot quickly but this time it was Williams with the
missed three attempt and same story here, Highland with the rebound
and Lincoln with the quick foul. This time LaPorta stepped to the
line to sink both shots and the lead just got bigger, 44-36 now in
favor of the Bulldogs with 42.1 seconds left in the game.
Cameron tossed up an airball downcourt, and again Highland grabbed
the rebound. Lincoln with the foul again, Cameron picking up her
fourth to send Wellen to the line. With 18.9 seconds on the clock
she sank both of those shots and lead was now a devastating double
digit deficit for the Lady Railers, 46-36, as the small student
section from Highland was going crazy.
In the midst of all this though, Railer Nation started chanting for
their lone senior who had played her heart out all evening. “We love
you, Hannah” could be heard loud and clear by the student section
from Lincoln.
The Lady Railers kept on fighting.
Froebe made a quick layup before eventually fouling out with 6.5
seconds left. Ponce, however, went to the line and didn’t miss
again. Her two shots extended the lead to double digits again, 48-38
as time was running out for the Lady Railers.
Appropriately, Cameron made the last drive to the basket for Lincoln
and her last career shot was good for the Lady Railers just as the
buzzer sounded.
The final score was 48-40, and yes, there may have been a few tears
shed, but these ladies should still be proud. They hustled from
beginning to end and gave the crowd plenty to cheer about.
Coach Richmond was proud of her team and offered this after emerging
from the locker room, “I thought that we played hard in the second
half and we did...we fell a little bit short against a good team.
They were able to stop us on offense. We didn’t get after the boards
as well as I would have liked. I thought that my girls played hard
and I couldn’t be more proud of the season we had. We had an
incredible season and these kids have a lot to be proud of. I wish
the best of luck to Highland. They played a great game tonight.”
When asked about Froebe, who missed eight minutes of playing time
with foul trouble, Coach Richmond said, “That might have been the
longest we had gone without Froebe on the floor but my other kids
are completely capable of handling the pressure and handling the
ball without her. Our shots didn’t fall. I don’t think we got enough
looks at the bucket. We weren’t able to get on the boards but we had
an incredible season and I’m very proud of the season we had. You
know we just get back to work and there’s always next year.”
As the final stats were tallied, a key factor may have been the
amount of three-point shots the Lady Railers took and missed.
Lincoln was just 5-25 from the three-point range, while shooting
36.4 percent from the field, and only 42.9 percent from the free
throw line.
Coach Richmond knew the team struggled and said, “We just couldn’t
get over the hump. We struggled to score and we struggled to pull
down the boards tonight.”
Lincoln fought hard for every rebound against the height of Highland
in the paint and pulled down 21 rebounds compared to Highland’s 29
rebounds.
Cameron led the Lady Railers with 7 rebounds, while LaPorta’s 13
rebounds led the Bulldogs.
On the scoring end of things, Kennedy Lolling led the Lady Railers
with 10 points, while Cameron and Froebe each tossed in 9 points
apiece.
Highland put three players in double figures as Ponce led all
scorers with 19 points, LaPorta scored 14 points, and Wellen tossed
in 11 points.
You cannot take anything away from Highland, who advances to the
state tournament this weekend at Redbird Arena. They shot a
respectable 45.2 percent from the field and a stellar 90.5 percent
from the free throw line. For the game the Bulldogs were 19-21 from
the charity stripe. Obviously a huge factor in the win as well.
However, these Lady Railers, who finished the season 22-13,
certainly changed the face of Lincoln basketball, as Coach Richmond
noted in the postgame interview and the future looks remarkable for
these young ladies.
Coach Richmond agreed. “The possibilities are endless for that
group. Very young, very talented and very hard-working group of
girls,” she said of the youth on her ball club. On a final note she
added, “We’re gonna miss our senior Hannah Cameron tremendously next
year, but I am excited about who we get to bring back. Time to get
to work.”
Congratulations Lady Railers on a fantastic season!
Lincoln scoring
Kennedy Lolling 10
Kaelyn Froebe 9
Hannah Cameron 9
Hailie Williams 6
Morgan Lolling 4
Grace Bossingham 2
Highland scoring
Amanda Ponce 19
Alex LaPorta 14
Madison Wellen 11
Caitlyn Lammers 2
Rece Portell 2
[Teena Lowery]
 |
