Lady Railers hold off Rockets 45-35
Holmes tosses in career-high 19 points

 

[December 21, 2024]  The Lady Railers picked up their second Central State Eight Conference win of the week on Friday night at Roy S. Anderson as they held off the Rochester Rockets for a 45-35 win.

Lincoln was up 18-14 at the half but the two teams traded the lead five times early in the third quarter. Lincoln was able to surmount a sizable lead late in fourth quarter thanks in part to Lily Holmes shooting 4-for-4 from the free throw line in the final minute of play.

Holmes scored a career-high 19 points versus Rochester, leading all Varsity scorers on the court. Holmes played an excellent game all the way around.

Makinley Knapp tossed in 16 points for Lincoln and she was a beast hitting the boards too.

First quarter

Makinley Knapp will win the tip as it lands in the hands of Mia Clark, who will drive all the way to the basket to put Lincoln on the board first. The Rockets are quick to tie the game seconds later. Grace Schneider is going to put Lincoln back on top with a three and then it’s Taylor Offer from Rochester leveling the score with her own three-point basket. Knapp gave Lincoln a 10-5 lead with a couple field goals and a free throw and the game was moving right along. Holmes would dump in the next two buckets for Lincoln, each from the paint and when the quarter closed the Lady Railers held a 14-7 lead.

Second quarter

It was tough for the Lady Railers to buy a basket in the second quarter. Knapp was the only player to score for Lincoln. Her four points kept Lincoln in front 18-14. 

Third quarter

Five early points in the third quarter allowed the Rockets to jump in front 19-18. Clark’s corner three in front of the Lady Railers bench flipped the score back in Lincoln’s court. A three by Rochester turned the tide in their favor before Holmes tossed in four points for the 25-23 lead. Knapp’s baseline jumper padded the lead a bit. Knapp scored again to elevate the lead to 29-23. Lincoln didn’t let up on defense and after a steal and basket by Holmes the Lady Railers found themselves in the midst of a little run. In fact, it was a sweet 11-0 run that ended with Holmes scoring in the lane again and getting fouled. She made a nice move to the basket, caught the foul and cashed in at the free throw line. A 34-23 lead was the result and it was quite pleasing to the Friday night crowd. Rochester finally broke through with a three and after Schneider made good on a free throw the third quarter score was settled at 35-26.

Fourth quarter

Rochester put a little charge in their battery for the fourth quarter, getting as close as 37-33 before the Lady Railers put a halt to that fun. Following a timeout, Lincoln ran a beautiful back door cut off the inbounds pass. Mesa McCloud to Makinley Knapp to a racing Holmes towards the basket. The layup fell through the net and Lincoln was back on track. The rest of the scoring was settled at the free throw line with Holmes, Knapp and Schneider all taking part. The Lincoln defense kept the Rockets from scoring for the better part of three minutes and when the buzzer sounded the Lady Railers had a convincing 45-35 win in the books.

Lincoln improved to 5-4 overall on the season and 4-1 in the CS8 Conference.

The Lady Railers are off until December 26, 2024 when they participate in the Dixon-KSB Tournament. Lincoln will play Moline at 1:30 p.m. to open play in the tournament. 

In the JV game Lincoln defeated Rochester 50-44 behind 21 points from Grey Gilbert. 

If you tuned into the Lady Railer game on YouTube you were treated to a trio of WLCN announcers who are Lincoln legends: Jan Bowers, Bob Verderber and Chuck Verderber. All three were fantastic!

Also spotted at Roy S. Anderson on this holiday weekend were former Lady Railers Tori Geriets, Taryn Stoltzenburg, Becca Heitzig and Jenna Bowman. 

Varsity scoring

Lincoln 45

Holmes 19

Knapp 16

Schneider 5

Clark 5

Rochester 35

Farris 15

Offer 9

Stock 5

Harness 4

Gross 2

JV scoring

Lincoln 50

Gilbert 21

Eskra 9

Hutchison 9

Schneider 9

Chen 2

Rochester 44

Henry 10

Webb 9

Christmon 7

Gross 5

Riedle 4

Kerley 4

Tinder 3

Hardiek 2

[Teena Lowery]