Lady Railers open postseason with
49-24 win over Mattoon
[February 18, 2026]
Lincoln is hosting the Class 3A regional tournament this week
and on Tuesday night the Lady Railers defeated the Mattoon Green
Wave 49-24 to advance to the regional championship.
Grace Bivin led the team with 14 points. Bivin just missed a
double-double with nine rebounds.
Mesa McCloud tossed in four 3s for 12 points.
Lily Holmes finished with 10 points. She also had five steals.
First quarter
Mesa McCloud’s three 3s in the opening quarter led the Lady Railers
to a 14-0 lead. McCloud was taking turns draining 3s from each
corner while Grace Bivin was taking care of scoring in the paint for
Lincoln. Bivin scored four points early in the game and Lily Holmes
tossed in a free throw to account for the 14-0 score. Mattoon
finally made it into the scoring column with two free throws by Ava
Larson at the 2:57 mark. Two more free throws by Larson would trim
the lead to 14-4. A drive by Bivin and a bucket by Sage Gilbert put
Lincoln up 18-4 at the end of the quarter.
Second quarter
Holmes and Bivin scored in the paint to keep Lincoln in front 22-9.
Lincoln’s remaining points in the quarter came at the free throw
line and that was good enough for a 26-15 lead at the half.
Third quarter
McCloud started the third quarter with a triple and after Bivin’s
free throws and a layup by Lily Holmes, a quick 7-0 run was
complete. Bivin added a couple nice moves in the lane that resulted
in buckets and Sage Gilbert continued to shoot well, giving Lincoln
a comfortable 41-21 lead when the quarter ended. Lincoln’s great
defense was continuing to rattle the Green Wave and they only
managed six points in the quarter.
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Fourth quarter
Lily and Paisley Holmes combined for six points early in the fourth
quarter and Bivin tossed in one final bucket before the starters
took a seat on the bench. There was no more scoring after the
starters sat down and the final score was in the books quickly. The
49-24 win sends the Lady Railers into the regional championship on
their home court.
Lincoln improves to 23-8 on the season.
The Lady Railers will play Mount Zion for the Class 3A regional
championship at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, February 19, 2026 at Roy S.
Anderson Gymnasium.
Lincoln 49
Bivin 14
McCloud 12
L. Holmes 10
S. Gilbert 8
G. Schneider 2
P. Holmes 2
Clark 1
Mattoon 24
Larson 12
Perez 6
Powers 3
Veach 3
[Teena Lowery]
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