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[January 06, 2025]
The Lincoln Lady Railers stunned the Morton Potters on
Saturday afternoon at Roy S. Anderson Gymnasium. The real shocker
was Lincoln holding the Potters scoreless in the first quarter.
Morton was unsuccessful at a late-game comeback and our girls hung
on to win 52-50.
The Potters (12-4) are ranked no. 8 in the latest MaxPreps girls
basketball poll.
This was a huge win for Lincoln, who was beaten 60-25 by Morton on
November 29, 2024.
Mia Clark and Makinley Knapp each led Lincoln in scoring with 18
points apiece.
Lily Holmes was not intimidated by the height of the Potters and she
poured in 10 points.
Emma Hutchison came off the bench and tossed in two 3s in the third
quarter, keeping Lincoln on top.
Clutch shooting from the sophomore.
First quarter
Lincoln’s great defense in the first quarter really shook up the
Potters. The Lady Railers forced six Morton turnovers while the
Potters hardly even got a good shot off, much less scored. Lincoln
impressed fans with a 14-0 lead after the first eight minutes. That
certainly was not on anybody’s bingo card going into the contest.
Mia Clark, coming off a 26-point performance in her last game, hit
two quick three-point baskets to start Lincoln off on a good note.
Knapp extended the lead to 10-0 after a couple free throws and a
field goal. Just under the two minute mark, Morton’s Ellie VanMeenen
was already in trouble with three fouls. Clark took advantage at the
free throw line and increased the lead to 12-0. Knapp ended the
quarter with a bank shot before the buzzer and the Potters were
stunned, down 14-0. Six turnovers, four fouls, two timeouts and a
handful of missed shots were the result of a bad eight minutes for
the Potters.
Second quarter
Morton was quick to score in the second quarter but so was Lincoln’s
Lily Holmes. After a three-point play by Abby VanMeenen and a free
throw by Paige Selke, the Lincoln lead was still double-digits. With
a 16-6 lead, Lincoln continued to force turnovers and play a
confident game. Knapp was not missing in the lane and she guided
Lincoln to a 20-8 lead. Abby VanMeenen did lead Morton with seven
points in the second quarter but Lincoln held onto a 22-14 lead at
the half after two free throws from Holmes.
Third quarter
Holmes scored a few seconds into the third quarter, keeping the
Potters down by ten points. Then Morton began to chip away at the
lead, with Ellie VanMeenen getting hot in the second half. After
back-to-back 3s by Ellie VanMeenen and Payton Hays, the Potters had
pulled to within three points, 30-27 the Lincoln lead.
[to top of second column] |
Enter Emma Hutchison into the scorebook with two of
the biggest buckets of her Varsity career so far. Hutchison was
absolutely clutch with a three-pointer around the one minute mark
and then thirty seconds later she did it again! Talk about rising to
the occasion. The sophomore kept Lincoln on top 36-29 as the Potters
missed one last shot attempt before the quarter ended.
Fourth quarter
Morton struck first with a bucket in the fourth quarter. Then it was
Holmes and Knapp keeping Lincoln in front 40-31 with their field
goals. Clark gave Lincoln a twelve-point cushion around the
three-minute mark. The 46-34 lead was nice but the Potters still had
other plans. With 1:40 left in the game Lincoln was up 50-42. Ellie
VanMeenen refused to give up and she nailed a long three to trim the
lead to five points. With less than thirty seconds left, VanMeenen
cut the lead to 50-48 with the old-fashioned three-point play. This
time it was Morton forcing Lincoln into some late-game turnovers and
with Ellie VanMeenen striking again, she tied the game on a field
goal with 19.5 seconds left. No matter how you split it, it’s a
50-50 tie at this point. Wow!
A dozen seconds later, Ellie VanMeenen fouled out of the game,
having poured in ten points in just about two minutes. VanMeenen’s
fifth foul sent Clark to the line and with 7.5 seconds on the game
clock, the junior got the lucky bounce on the first free throw and
managed to rattle in the second shot for a 52-50 lead. With Morton
rushing up the court in the final seconds, Abby VanMeenen tried to
throw up something that wasn’t exactly a shot and the buzzer blew
with Lincoln winning 52-50.
That was undoubtedly Lincoln’s biggest win of the season and what a
way to kick off 2025 at Roy S. Anderson Gymnasium!
Lincoln improves their record to 8-6 on the season.
The Lady Railers are scheduled to play tonight at Bartonville
Limestone.
The JV game will tip-off at 5:30 p.m. The Varsity game is scheduled
for 7:00 p.m.
Lincoln 52
Clark 18
Knapp 18
Holmes 10
Hutchison 6
Morton 50
E. VanMeenen 17
VanMeenen 12
Selke 7
Laufenberg 5
Brock 3
Brooks 3
Hays 3
[Teena Lowery]
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