High School Girls Basketball
Lady Railers defeat Pana 61-28 to take Pana Thanksgiving Tournament Championship
Froebe, Bowman and Heitzig each named to the all-tournament team
Froebe named tournament MVP

[November 27, 2022]

The Lady Railers are now back-to-back champs of the Pana Thanksgiving Tournament. The team took home the first place trophy once again with a 61-28 win over the hosts on Saturday night in Pana.

Lincoln was 5-0 in the tournament, winning every game by astronomical margins.

Kloe Froebe, Jenna Bowman and Becca Heitzig were each named to the all-tournament team. Froebe was named the MVP of the tournament, averaging 23.8 points per game. She also scored a career-high 39 points in the game versus Mattoon.

Bowman averaged 13.8 PPG in the tournament and she scored a career-high 37 points versus Gillespie.

Becca Heitzig averaged 11.6 PPG in the tournament.

On Saturday night in the Panthers gym it was the Lady Railers off and running without hesitation. Kloe Froebe hit the first soft jumper in the lane for Lincoln. Taryn Stoltzenburg hit a corner three and followed on the next possession with a nice little bank shot off the fast break. After Jenna Bowman took the nice pass in the lane from Becca Heitzig and poured it in, the Lady Railers held a 9-0 lead. Pana finally scored with 3:19 on the clock but the Lady Railers were quick to get free throws from Tori Geriets and a corner three from Bowman to make the score 14-4. Heitzig drove the lane and hit a bank shot with fourteen seconds on the clock and Lincoln led 16-6 at the close of the first quarter.

Pana closed the gap on a 6-0 run to start the second quarter. But at the 5:30 mark Mia Clark scored after just entering the game and Lincoln maintained an 18-14 lead. After Piper Whiteman pulled down the offensive rebound and put it back up and in, the Lady Railers were in front 20-14. Heitzig tossed in a quick four points herself, getting one basket off an offensive rebound and then getting another off a really quick steal from the Panthers’ inbounds pass. This widened the margin back to a 10-point lead for Lincoln, 24-14 the score. Bowman’s three extended the lead and forced the Panthers to call a timeout to regroup. The Lady Railers really didn’t need the minute of rest but they took it and then picked right back up where they left off. Froebe earned a couple points in the lane and Bowman, well she really loves that corner, and she hit another three to give Lincoln a 32-16 lead. With a minute left to play, Froebe’s steal led to a basket and the ‘and one’ for Lincoln. With twenty-four seconds remaining, Froebe was fouled and sank two free throws. At the buzzer, Pana’s Aryn Alde launched a nearly-half-court shot that went in and made the score 37-21.

The Panthers played a passing game to start the second half. Despite trying to slow things down, the Lady Railers continued to be unfazed. Froebe poured in eight points and Heitzig tossed in four points and at the end of the eight minutes Lincoln was on top 49-26.

As the 6:00 mark approached in the fourth quarter, the Lady Railers lead had reached the point of a running clock. Clark’s bucket with 6:10 remaining made the score 57-26 and now the game would have to speed up. Grace Schneider and Mesa McCloud scored the last two baskets for Lincoln and the Lady Railers won by a final of 61-28.

Three Lady Railers scored in double-figures: Kloe Froebe (21), Becca Heitzig (12) and Jenna Bowman (11).

Front Row: Tori Geriets, Jenna Bowman, Kloe Froebe, Becca Heitzig, Taryn Stoltzenburg and Piper Whiteman.

Back Row: Assistant Coach Cory Farmer, Grace Schneider, Mesa McCloud, Lily Holmes, Mia Clark, Makinley Knapp, Ceana Adams, Coach Taylor Rohrer and Manager Jayden Toft.

Lincoln wins the championship with a 5-0 tournament record and improves to 6-0 on the season.

A recap of Lincoln’s five wins in the tournament:

Lincoln 76
Mattoon 47

Lincoln 63
Williamsville 13

Lincoln 78
Gillespie 16

Lincoln 73
Olney 25

Lincoln 61
Pana 28

2022 Pana Thanksgiving All-Tournament Team:

Kloe Froebe, Lincoln
Jenna Bowman, Lincoln
Becca Heitzig, Lincoln
Anna Beyers, Pana
Chloe Ashcraft, Pana
Kenidee Boldt, Olney
Grayce Burgener, Olney
Ella Conyers, Mattoon
Lily Ghere, Mattoon
Emily Maple, Mattoon

Lincoln will be back in action on Thursday night with an away game at Bloomington. The JV is scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m. and the Varsity will tip-off at 7 p.m.

The Lady Railers return home to Neil Alexander Court for a Friday night game versus Mattoon. The JV game will tip-off at 6 p.m. and the Varsity is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m.

Scoring

Lincoln 61

Froebe 21
Heitzig 12
Bowman 11
Stoltzenburg 5
Clark 4
Whiteman 2
Geriets 2
McCloud 2
Schneider 2

Pana 28

Beyers 8
Alde 6
Ashcroft 4
McLaughlen 3
Hadowski 3
Manuel 2
Coleman 2

[Teena Lowery]