Lincoln’s Allie Owens
FOUNTAIN CITY, Ind. – After splitting a pair of regular season contests, Lincoln Girls Basketball Head Coach Garry Laymon knew the game with Northeastern would be close.
“We beat them by two and they beat us by four and then you had a double overtime,” he said.
Friday’s 51-44 Lincoln win in two extra sessions over the Knights in the Class 2A Northeastern Sectional was a battle to be remembered.
“Give them all of the credit,” Northeastern Head Coach Princess Darnell said. “It was a battle all the way down to the end.”
After it was finished, Lincoln (12-11) punched its ticket to Saturday’s title affair against Winchester (22-2) at 7:30 p.m.
The game was tied 9-9 after the first quarter and then Lincoln had a 22-21 edge at halftime as Allie Owens hit a 3-pointer with 12 seconds left to give the Golden Eagles the lead.
The third quarter was a struggle for both teams with a total of just seven total points. Predictably, it was tied 25-25 heading into the fourth frame.
Both teams held small leads in the fourth as it ended 35-35.
In the first overtime, the Golden Eagles worked their way to a 43-38 lead after Owens hit a pair of free throws with 25 seconds left.
However, Northeastern wasn’t done. Jenna McFarland made two charity tosses with 19 seconds remaining to set the stage for the loudest fan response of the night with three seconds left.
“What a shot to send it to double overtime,” Laymon said.
Owens, who is plays on an AAU team with Clay, had a unique response given the situation.
“We hang out together all of the time,” Owens said. “She made it and I wanted to cheer for her.”
Clay’s coach was thrilled.
“Madi Clay hit that huge deep three to send us to double overtime,” Darnell said. “We really felt like we could finish it. Unfortunately, some things didn’t go our way.”
Owens, who had a game-high 24 points and five rebounds, was responsible for most of Northeastern’s troubles after regulation as she hit 8-of-9 free throws during the overtimes.
“That was amazing,” Owens said of the win. “That was definitely the best sectional game I’ve ever played.”
Laymon agreed.
“She just did a great job of handling the ball and keeping us in the game,” he said.
Olivia Davis finished with 12 points and 13 rebounds for the Golden Eagles, while Emmie Pugh had eight points and 10 rebounds.
For the Knights (10-13), Clay and Emma Wright led the way with 10 points each. McFarland added nine points and nine rebounds.
Kasey Andrews finished with six points and nine rebounds. Kelli Drake also had six points.
It was the final game for Clay, Andrews and Olivia Harris.
“They are extremely special to me with this being my third year,” Darnell said. “Those three seniors have been so crucial in building this program.”
“We got to double-digit wins and went to the county tourney championship,” Darnell continued. “These seniors have a lot to be proud of because they took a season with two wins and turned it into something really special.”