Lincoln’s Emmie Pugh guards Centerville’s Ella Chew on Nov. 21.
CENTERVILLE. Ind. – Emmie Pugh scored a career-high 25 points on Tuesday as Lincoln’s girls basketball team defeated Centerville 52-28 in a Tri-Eastern Conference contest.
A five-point run in the final moments of the third quarter proved to be the difference.
“We closed out the third quarter really well,” Lincoln Head Coach Garry Laymon said. “Our full-court press got us some easy baskets.”
Allie Owens had a pair of steals and found Pugh twice, who converted two baskets and a free throw to give the Golden Eagles a 36-26 advantage at the end of the period.
“That kind of sparked us and really got us going,” Laymon said. “We came out in that fourth quarter and put the game away. They tested us, which was good.”
In the final stanza, the Golden Eagles pulled away as they held the Bulldogs to two points.
“I loved our effort, especially the first three quarters,” Centerville Head Coach Jason Searcy said. “We were in the game for three quarters and kind of lost control at the end.”
Lincoln led 14-9 after the opening period before the Bulldogs rallied to tie the game at 16-16 by halftime.
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“They’re listening to us,” Searcy said. “They’re getting better every single night. I was really pleased with the effort they gave and there were a lot of positives.”
Owens tossed in 11 points for the Golden Eagles, while Laynie Russell added nine points.
Kailee Tedder led the Bulldogs with nine points as she connected on a trio of 3-pointers,
Alex McFarland and Carlie Doolin each finished with seven points.
The Bulldogs (2-5, 1-1) entertain Anderson Prep (2-5) on Monday, while the Golden Eagles (3-1, 1-0) visit TEC foe Tri High (2-2, 0-2) next Tuesday.