The current Northeastern girls basketball team with members of the 1997-98 squad that won the regional title.
FOUNTAIN CITY, Ind. – The Northeastern girls basketball team celebrated it’s past and present on Friday.
Northeastern defeated Lincoln 33-29 in a Tri-Eastern Conference affair and then the 1997-1998 version of the Knights were honored for their accomplishment of earning a trip to the semi-state.
“It was extremely special,” Northeastern Head Coach Princess Darnell said of the win and celebration. “We tried to block out all of the extra that was going on because we knew we needed to come in a be focused.”
“We knew Lincoln was going to make it a good game,” Darnell continued. “We had to be ready to play.”
The Knights began the contest with a 10-2 lead after the first quarter and then they remained on top 14-6 by halftime.
“Defensively, we played pretty well,” Lincoln Head Coach Garry Laymon said. “We held then to 14 points in the first half.”
“The problem was we only scored six,” Laymon added. “We just kind of had some mental errors and some turnovers that were unforced.”
The Golden Eagles made some adjustments heading into the third quarter and closed the cap to 17-14.
“Those helped, but we didn’t shoot very well,” Laymon said.
Through the final stanza the game stayed tight, but the Knights were able to maintain their advantage.
“I’m so proud of those girls because that was a big win for us as far as the conference is concerned,” Darnell said of her team’s best finish in the TEC since she took over three years ago.
With the victory, Northeastern finished fifth in the conference at 4-4 and 10-12 overall. Lincoln (10-11, 3-5) ended the regular season tied with Union City (9-13, 3-5) for sixth place.
Jenna McFarland led the Knights with 19 points as she was 8-for-10 from the free throw line.
Emma Wright finished with six points.
For Lincoln, Allie Owens led the way with 15 points.
Hannah Hall tossed in six points.
Lincoln faces Hagerstown (11-9) on Tuesday in the second game of the Class 2A Northeastern Sectional. The winner of that game meets Northeastern in Friday’s second semifinal contest.