High School Girls Basketball
Lady Railers handle the Lions 79-17
Team improves to 21-0

 

[January 14, 2024] 

With Kloe Froebe recording a double-double on Saturday afternoon versus Springfield Lanphier, Lincoln was easily able to handle the Lions, sending them home with a Central State Eight loss.

Lincoln won 79-17 as Froebe dropped 30 points and pulled down 10 rebounds. The senior standout also had 7 steals.

First Quarter

A quick synopsis of the first quarter looks like this: Froebe sank 21 points, Becca Heitzig and Tori Geriets each contributed four points. Lincoln was up 24-0 before the Lions scored. As WLCN announcer Jay Hardin likes to say, “We’re pitching a shutout,” and that was true until about a minute left in the quarter when the Lions finally sank two free throws. The 24-2 score didn’t last long, as Froebe would increase the lead with a three and then follow that up with an easy bucket on the assist from Heitzig. The quarter ended with Lincoln on top 29-2, thanks to the success of the outstanding Lady Railers defense. The press was brutal on the Lions, who came into the game with a 4-11 record and a zero chance of winning. Nothing new here, except at least for the game both sides of the bleachers were down.

Second Quarter

Piper Whiteman’s basket in the second quarter made it a 31-2 ballgame and then, news flash: the Lions scored a field goal at the 6:29 mark. Of course the 31-4 score was just another fleeting moment with Froebe dropping in a three twenty-seven seconds later. Nice ball movement in this sequence by Lincoln, by the way. Those girls can handle the ball like a hot potato. Quick on defense and quick on offense. They have the winning recipe that’s for sure. A 36-4 lead flashed on the scoreboard after Whiteman’s bank shot on the assist from Froebe. With 3:37 on the clock, Lanphier scored again. Lincoln concluded the quarter on a 7-0 run, Jenna Bowman had five of those points, and Lincoln led 43-6 at the half.

Third Quarter

The run continued well into the third quarter. Bowman, Stoltzenburg, Heitzig and Froebe each scored before Lincoln’s 10-0 run here came to a stop. The 53-6 lead makes a strong case for a running clock in the third quarter. After a layup by the Lions, Lincoln was on the loose again. This time the 8-0 run brought out the best of Becca and Piper’s long range shooting. You just gotta love it! A three by Heitzig one minute and then a three by Whiteman the next minute. Just under the three minute mark, Froebe scored and the result was a 61-8 lead. The starters would soon exit the game with a 61-10 lead and as you can tell by the final score, that second unit was dangerous on offense, too. Mesa McCloud and Mia Clark got down to business quickly, sinking threes and putting Lincoln up 67-13. Not quite finished, it was Clark on a bank shot with 1.2 seconds left to cement the 69-15 score.

A 54-point lead, wow! It wasn’t that long ago that the Lions finished fourth in the IHSA Class 3A State Tournament. March 7, 2020, to be exact. Right before Covid. Good teams come and go. Lincoln is enjoying great success these days, but Lanphier’s coach Doug Collins is no stranger to success either. His team just was not able to find much success against Lincoln on Saturday afternoon.

Fourth Quarter

With that being said, it’s time to quickly run through the fourth quarter. Sometimes these words written seem so repetitive but that’s been the theme of the season so far: a running clock. The starters sit the bench in the fourth quarter and the subs run the circus. In this particular fourth quarter, Lily Holmes came off the bench and she was the ringleader. Holmes was flawless, draining two 3s and then with just thirty-two seconds left in the game she drove the lane, stopped a bit short of the hoop and decided to bank in a ten-footer. Holmes led the quarter with eight points and Clark also added a bucket as the Lady Railers notch another victory, 79-17 the final score.

Kloe Froebe led the way with 30 points. She barely broke a sweat.

Becca Heitzig was enjoying her day by dropping 11 points.

Lincoln is now 8-0 in the Central State Eight Conference.

The Lady Railers keep that perfect record intact as they prepare for a big game on Monday afternoon in the Kipp Hoopfest Shootout at Lisle Benet Academy. Lincoln (21-0) will play Chicago Kenwood (14-6) at 3:45 p.m.

In the JV game, Lincoln ran circles around Lanphier and won by a whopping 77-9.

Ceana Adams led the team with 12 points.

Lily Holmes added 11 points.

Piper Whiteman scored 10 points.

The JV team improved their record to 15-0.

Varsity scoring

Lincoln 79

Froebe 30
Heitzig 11
Holmes 8
Bowman 7
Whiteman 7
Clark 7
Geriets 4
McCloud 3
Stoltzenburg 2

Lanphier 17

Beavers 10
N. Walker 5
Jackson 2

JV scoring

Lincoln 77

Adams 12
Holmes 11
McCloud 9
Schneider 8
Knapp 7
Perkins 7
Clark 6
Gilbert 4
Hutchison 3

Lanphier 9

Rutherford 6
McKenzie 3

[Teena Lowery]