Kylei Klein
CAMBRIDGE CITY, Ind. – Lincoln’s girls basketball team got back on track on Wednesday as the Golden Eagles posted an opening round 56-38 win over Cowan in the Healthy Hoopla Tournament.
“We wanted to play better defense,” Lincoln Head Coach Rob Bills said. “I really happy with our defensive effort.”
Lincoln’s offense struggled early as Cowan led 9-7 after the first quarter.
“I liked the shots we were getting,” Bills said. “We just weren’t making them.”
The Golden Eagles started making those shots in the second frame as they eventually led 20-16 at the intermission.
“We try to establish our game inside,” Bills said. “We wanted to come out and play hard and fast and we think we are as good inside as anybody we play.”
Kylei Klein 11 of her game-high 18 points in the second quarter. She also had a game-high 13 rebounds.
Taking control to start the second half, Lincoln led 40-27 at the end of the third.
“We came out really well in the second half,” Bills said. “That was the key part for us that we controlled the early part of the third quarter.”
Kerrigan Neff scored 17 points and had 12 rebounds for Lincoln. Ally Owens added nine points.
With the win, the Golden Eagles advance to Wednesday’s championship affair against North Decatur, which defeated Union County 50-45.
“I’m proud of them,” Bills said. “I get a lot of good stuff from this group.”
Box Score
COWAN (3-10) – Ashley Evans 2 0-2 6, Carli Skinner 3 0-0 6, Mariah Rumfelt 2 2-4 6, Sabrina Smith 3 0-0 6, Elizabeth Clevenger 0 2-2 2, Payton Maher 1 0-0 2, Riley Combs 4 0-0 8, Lily Johnson 0 0-0 0, Karlee Rumfelt 1 0-0 2, Rebbeca Wann 0 0-0 0. Team – 16 4-8 38.
LINCOLN (5-8) – Allie Owens 3 0-0 9, Emmie Pugh 2 0-0 5, Kerrigan Neff 6 5-7 17, Kylei Klein 6 6-8 18, Olivia Davis 2 0-0 4, Laynie Russell 1 1-2 3, Hannah Hall 0 0-0 0, Jessica Harmer 0 0-0 0, Dakota Harrison 0 0-0 0, Rachel Merida 0 0-0 0, Kami Laymon 0 0-0 0. Team – 20 12-17 56.
Cowan 9 16 27 38
Lincoln 7 20 40 56
3-pointers – Cowan 2 (Evans 2), Lincoln 4 (Owens 3, Pugh 1). Rebounds – Cowan 35 (Skinner 9), Lincoln 49 (Klein 13, Neff 12, Davis 8). Turnovers – Cowan 13, Lincoln 15. Fouls – Cowan 12, Lincoln 6.