Lady Railers win a thriller over Tri-Valley 48-46

 

[December 05, 2024]  The Lady Railers won their first game of the season Wednesday night and it was definitely earned. Lincoln trailed for three quarters of the game against the Tri-Valley Vikings but with a fourth quarter rally that started with a three by Emma Hutchison, the Lady Railers were able to fight their way to a 48-46 victory. Mia Clark took over late in the fourth quarter, scoring eight of her 15 points, that included two huge 3s as Lincoln came from behind to win.

First quarter

Lincoln took a 5-0 lead on baskets by Makinley Knapp and Lily Holmes to start the contest but the Vikings would tie the game less than a minute later. A steal and a bucket by Grace Schneider put Lincoln back on top 7-5. The Vikings then blew by the Lady Railers on an 11-0 run that was topped off with a three by Zoey Whittaker, making the score 16-7. After Mia Clark drove the lane, scored the bucket and got fouled, she was able to put Lincoln in double-digits, trailing 16-10. Whittaker’s reverse layup with 16.0 seconds left was a really good move in the lane, but an even better move for Lincoln was the three that Mesa McCloud hit just ahead of the buzzer that pulled the team to within five points. The Vikings lead was just 18-13 at the end of the first quarter.

Second quarter

Lincoln’s second quarter was just dreadful. Ceana Adams scored a basket at the 4:00 mark and Makinley Knapp scored at the 3:35 mark. That was all the offense for Lincoln in the entire eight minutes. Over on the Vikings side, three different players sank threes to help their team get to a double-digit lead. After Addy Freihaut scored a basket ahead of the one minute mark, the halftime score was set at 29-17. 

Third quarter

The Lady Railers had a better outing in the third quarter, outscoring the Vikings 13-5. Defensively, Lincoln forced more turnovers here and offensively they seemed to be playing a smoother game. The pep talk in the locker room evidently helped. Knapp and Holmes found their confidence to drive the lane again and it paid off. Clark also stepped up her game and poured in a couple baskets. After Holmes picked up her third foul with 14.5 seconds left, Freihaut sank the two free throws, giving her the entire five points in the quarter for Tri-Valley and enabling the Vikings a 34-30 lead.

Fourth quarter

Emma Hutchison, who sank three 3s in the third quarter of the JV game, is going to join the Lady Railers briefly on the court in the fourth quarter and she was the spark the team needed to really get going. Hutchison, a 5’4 sophomore, was in the game all of about ten seconds when she hit a three at the 7:04 mark that made the fans go crazy. Adams then stole the ball as the Vikings were struggling to get it across half court and she scrambled to the basket, scoring to give Lincoln a 35-34 lead. Talk about the crowd coming alive after that play! The Vikings called a timeout. The Lady Railers raced to the bench, pretty pumped up. 

Following the timeout, the Vikings would steal the lead back on a long two by Adelin Bruce. Both teams were unsuccessful at scoring for the next two and a half minutes. Finally as the four minute mark drew near, Knapp scored in the lane and Lincoln was back on top. Knapp was fouled on the play and she missed the free throw but as the rebound bounced around, Adams was able to come up with it and quickly turn around to score for Lincoln. The Lady Railers lead was 39-36.

The Vikings did score the next basket in the game, but it was just a layup and Lincoln was able to maintain a one-point lead. Mia Clark hit a game-changer in Lincoln’s next possession. She popped out from the paint, lost her defender somewhere on Primm Road, and proceeded to drain a wide open three from the top of the key. It was a beautiful shot at the 2:49 mark that made the crowd get on its feet, as the Lady Railers had a 42-38 lead. Bruce is going to quickly score in the lane for the Vikings to trim the lead to 42-40 but like Jay Hardin said on the radio, “Don’t go away, this one’s an old-fashioned barn burner.” 

The Vikings missed their opportunity to score, and with Lincoln controlling the lead and the game now, they were in no hurry to make a move. Finally at the 1:01 mark the Vikings would foul, sending Schneider to the line to make one free throw, stretching that lead to 43-40. With 54.7 seconds on the clock, Clark is going to come flying towards Bruce attempting a three from the corner and that foul that was committed sent Bruce to the line.  

Lucky for Lincoln, Bruce only made 2-of-3 free throws but unlucky for Lincoln was the steal by Kaylee Magenheimer off the press and she ran to the bucket for a layup and that put Tri-Valley up 44-43.
 

Under pressure the Lady Railers got the ball across half court and into the hands of Clark, who nailed a three from the left wing, right in front of the Railer fans, throwing them into a frenzy. Clark’s shot was good with 34.6 seconds left in the game and as a result, Lincoln was up 46-44. 

Twenty seconds later Clark is going to pick up her fourth foul, a blocking foul on Freihaut, and the Vikings junior all-stater is going to tie the game with her free throws. Clark was ready to redeem herself after that foul, and upon collecting the inbounds pass from McCloud, Clark drove the distance and took it straight to the basket for what would be the game-winning points. She scored with 5.9 seconds left and gave Lincoln a 48-46 advantage. Tri-Valley had time to call a timeout, but after the game resumed, all they could do was toss up a bad baseline shot that was way off the mark and the Lincoln fans got to cheer for that first Lady Railer win of the season!

Mia Clark took over the final few minutes of the game, scoring eight points, and helping her team to the 48-46 victory.

Clark led all scorers with 15 points.

Makinley Knapp had 10 points for the Lady Railers.

Lincoln is now 1-3 on the season.

The Lincoln JV team lost to Tri-Valley 41-37. 

Grey Gilbert led the JV team with 13 points.

The JV team is now 2-2 on the season.

Lincoln will host Sacred Heart-Griffin on Friday night for a Central State Eight Conference matchup. 

The JV game will tip-off at 5:30 p.m. and the Varsity game will tip-off at 7:00 p.m.

Varsity scoring

Lincoln 48

Clark 15

Knapp 10 

Holmes 8

Adams 6

McCloud 3

Schneider 3

Hutchison 3

Tri-Valley 46

Freihaut 13

Bruce 9

Black 8

Whittaker 5

E. Black 4

Magenheimer 4

Fesler 3

JV scoring

Lincoln 37

Gilbert 13

Hutchison 9

Eskra 4

Hinton 4

Chen 4

Schneider 3

Tri-Valley 41

Brandt 10

Tracy 7

Liebendorfer 7

Bardwell 7

Fesler 6

Black 2

Smith 2

[Teena Lowery]