Laynie Russell
HAGERSTOWN, Ind. – The defending champion Lincoln girls basketball team will have a chance for a second straight Wayne County Tourney crown after the Golden Eagles won 31-21 over Centerville on Thursday.
The Golden Eagles (7-7) will face Friday’s winner of the Northeastern (7-6) and Hagerstown (7-8) contest for the title on Saturday at 6 p.m.
Tempo created by defensive pressure was an important factor for the Golden Eagles .
“Even though we weren’t getting any steals out of it and they were beating the press, it seemed like, especially in the third quarter when we finally got a lead, we would get what we wanted out of it,” Lincoln Head Coach Garry Laymon said. “We wanted tempo.”
Centerville was able to lead 6-2 at the first stop before the contest was tied 10-10 by halftime.
“We have turnovers that are unforced,” Laymon said. “We just have to do a better job of protecting the ball and give ourselves a chance to score. In the first four minutes, we had some silly turnovers.”
After Centerville picked up a 12-11 advantage on a basket by Carlie Doolin with 5:12 left in the third, the Golden Eagles scored eight straight points and eventually led 19-13 by the end of the period.
Lincoln took control of the contest with five points in a row to begin the fourth quarter.
Laynie Russell led the Golden Eagles with 11 points, while she grabbed nine rebounds.
Allie Owens finished with nine points. Olivia Davis had five points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
For Centerville (4-12), Cassidy Weiss led the way with seven points.
Doolin added six points and Lexi Harmon tossed in five.
Savana Kates had a team-high six rebounds, while Harmon and Kailee Tedder both had five rebounds.