LEXINGTON — The Lincoln County Lady Patriots were handed their first loss of the season Friday night, falling 57-46 to host Lafayette.
Lincoln (3-1) struggled against its opponent for the first time in this young season and the team’s inability to knock down shots had much to do with that.
The Lady Patriots were led offensively by sophomore center Kaitlynn Wilks, who had her fourth straight double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds, but her presence in the paint was not enough to lead Lincoln to a win as the Lady Pats went 20-for-58 from the field (35 percent), 0-for-12 from 3-point range.
Lafayette (3-2) was at 51 percent from the field, going 20-for-39, 4-for-12 from 3.  The Lady Generals bolstered their lead with a 13-for-21 stint at the foul line. The Lady Patriots got just six points at the line off nine trips.
Despite 2-for-11 shooting from the field in the first six minutes of the game, Lincoln held the early lead. Wilks opened the night’s scoring with a free throw, Maddy Boyle followed with a jumper then Wilks converted on a three-point play to give the Lady Pats a 6-4 edge.
However, Lafayette would answer Wilks’ three-point play with a 7-0 run to go on top to stay.
Caroline Bennett, who led Lafayette with a game-high 18 points, nailed a 3-pointer to open the run then followed with a bucket. Kiara Pankins, who finished with 12 points, added a putback to cap the run and put the Lady Generals in front 11-6. They led 18-14 at the end of the first.
Neither team shot well in the second quarter, with Lincoln  just 3-for-12 and Lafayette 3-for-9. The Lady Pats, who were 2-for-2 at the line in the second, managed to tie the game at 20-all and 22-all off two Emma King free throws and a Wilks’ putback, but Elise Pankins hit inside with four ticks showing to put the Lady Generals on top 24-22 at the half.
Lafayette led by as many as 12 points in the third before Lincoln closed the frame on a 7-0 run. Logan Godbey, who had 10 points, kick started the run then Wilks followed with a three-point play and a bucket in the paint for a 41-36 margin.
Trinity Shearer drove inside for a bucket to open the fourth period to get Lincoln within 41-38, but that was as close as the Lady Pats would get with the Lady Generals finishing the game on a 16-8 run.   
Lincoln outrebounded Lafayette 39-20.
Lindi DeBilzan finished with 14 points for Lafayette.

at Lafayette
1 2 3 4 F
Lincoln 14 8 14 10 – 46
Lafayette 18 6 17 16 – 57

LINCOLN (3-1) – Emma King 7, Kaitlynn Wilks 17, Maddy Boyle 6, Jenna King 4, Logan Godbey 10, Trinity Shearer 2.
LAFAYETTE (3-2) – Terry Abram 2, Caroline Bennett 18, Lindi DeBilzan 14, Macy Goff 3, Elise Pankins 2, Kiara Pankins 12, Shelbi Wilson 6.