Lady Railers beat Mount Zion 69-29
Lincoln improves to 12-0

[December 14, 2022]  The Mount Zion Braves came to town on Tuesday night and after a 69-29 beating by the Lady Railers, most likely they would have preferred to stay home on this cold and rainy evening. With that being said, the Braves kept their composure while just being totally taken out of their game by the red-hot Lady Railers.

After a three by Kloe Froebe to start the scoring, Mount Zion’s ace Denver Anderson scored to make it 3-2. Okay, this is going to be a good ballgame between these two Apollo Conference teams. Lincoln corrected that thought and raced out to a 22-2 lead. Mount Zion could not keep up with the quickness of Lincoln, they could not handle the Lady Railers press, they could not get a rebound if the ball hit them in the hands, they could not sink a basket to save their lives and they could not find the Lincoln shooters on the court. The last reason being because the Lincoln shooters were everywhere. Froebe scored the first eight points for Lincoln and then it was Taryn Stoltzenburg with a bucket. Then it was Becca Heitzig with a little bank shot in the lane and the next thing you know, it’s already a 12-2 lead. Throw in some made free throws and baskets by Jenna Bowman, Piper Whiteman and, of course, Froebe again, and the first quarter was over in a flash with Lincoln on top 24-4. Anderson did score the second basket of the game for Mount Zion with just under thirty seconds left to play in the quarter.

Let's talk about having an arsenal on the Lincoln bench. Mia Clark was quick to score in the second quarter for the Lady Railers. Again, Clark is a game-changer right here with her height and ability. She’s a freshman disguising herself as a veteran at the Varsity level. Following a basket by Heitzig, Clark was at it again, confidently taking a shot and increasing the score to 30-4. At the 6:25 mark, the Braves got their one shot of the quarter to fall through the net, a free throw by Anderson. Anderson had all of the Braves points in the first half. Meanwhile, Lincoln was just running circles around the Braves, playing on another level. After watching Froebe and Bowman sink shots, Clark took matters into her own hands at the 3:16 mark and decided to drive the lane and scoop the ball up and in for two more points. Again showing that confidence and ability to make her way to the hoop that’s going to be invaluable as the season rolls on. A steal by Froebe at the 2:25 mark led to her layup and the ‘and one’ that followed, solidifying her take no prisoners mentality. The quarter ended on a great note for sophomore Piper Whiteman, who blends in so well with this heavily-talented junior class. Whiteman sank a three just like her older brother, Kameron, used to do on Neil Alexander Court back in the day. And then with barely a second left on the clock, Whiteman tossed in a bucket in the lane to set the halftime score at 44-5.

The fun continued into the third quarter. First, the Lady Railers allowed Anderson her moment, as she hit a three to open the scoring. But then it was Bowman herself with a quick three. The Braves finally hit double-digits in scoring in the third quarter, but with Froebe, Heitzig and Bowman still pouring in baskets, Lincoln built a 53-13 lead with just under five minutes to go in the third quarter. The Braves did score the bulk of their points in the third quarter and that was acceptable (sort of) with Lincoln continuing to dominate on all corners of the court and everywhere in between. After Stoltzenburg’s bucket the lead was 59-22 and thankfully the game was about a minute away from a running clock. But first here comes that Whiteman girl again. She pulled down an offensive rebound and put it back up with 24.7 seconds remaining. Then it was Froebe ahead of the pack, sinking the left-handed layup and making the foul shot that followed. Taking a look at the scoreboard as the buzzer sounded, Lincoln was way out in front 64-25.

The fourth quarter ended with the Lincoln bench taking turns on the court, but not before Bowman, Heitzig and Froebe completed their scoring for the night. Five more points between these three would finish the scoring and as the running clock quickly finished off the Braves, Lincoln walked off the court with yet another big win, 69-29 the final score.

No pom poms in this one, just business as usual for the Lady Railers.

Kloe Froebe outscores the Mount Zion Braves with 28 points.

Jenna Bowman hit double-figures with 11 points for Lincoln.

Lincoln improves to 12-0 on the season.

In the JV game, the Lady Railers won 55-16 over Mount Zion.

Mia Clark led Lincoln with 14 points. Makinley Knapp tossed in 13 points for the Lady Railers.

The Lincoln JV team is now 7-0 on the season.

The Lady Railers travel to Effingham on Friday night to take on the Flaming Hearts. The JV game is scheduled for a 5:30 p.m. start time. The Varsity will tip-off at 7 p.m.

Varsity scoring

Lincoln 69
Froebe 28
Bowman 11
Heitzig 9
Whiteman 9
Clark 8
Stoltzenburg 4

Mount Zion 29
Anderson 16
Becker 4
Turner 4
Kendall 3
Barnes 2
 

Junior Varsity Scoring

Lincoln 55
Clark 14
Knapp 13
Whiteman 8
Schneider 6
Adams 5
McCloud 4
Kurka 3
Holmes 2

Mount Zion 16
Horne 6
Bakeman 3
Anderson 3
Means 2
Rockey 2

[Teena Lowery]