Lady Pats dominant in rout at Garrard
Published 12:33 pm Thursday, January 25, 2018
Photos by Nancy Leedy RESERVE FRESHMAN Savannah Robbins of Lincoln County goes inside to battle Ashlynn Clark of Garrard County for a rebound in the Lady Patriots’ 64-23 45th District win Tuesday at Lancaster. Looking on are fellow reserves Claudia Padgett and Haleigh Releford (22) and Garrard’s Katy Pozzuto (14).
LANCASTER — The Lincoln County girls notched their second 45th District win in convincing fashion, steamrolling host Garrard County 64-23 Tuesday night.
Lincoln (14-4, 2-0 district) came awfully close to perfection in the first two quarters. The Lady Patriots shut out the Lady Lions from the field – holding Garrard scoreless on 23 shot attempts – and scored 24 of the first 26 points en route to the lopsided win.
“I’m proud of the girls,” Lincoln coach Cassandra McWhorter said. “Got home late last night from Corbin (93-53 win) and I wanted to see how we came out after a big win and long night, to see if we could put two wins back-to-back. And they played well and got a big win.”
While pleased with the back-to-back wins, McWhorter says the Garrard victory brings the most satisfaction.
“Both wins are big, but this was a district win,” she said of Tuesday’s win. “That makes us 2-0 in the district and that’s what is important right now.”
Lincoln established itself as the dominant team early, exploding out to a 17-2 first-quarter lead. Emma King, who had a game-high 22 points, and Kaitlynn Wilks, who finished with 10 points, tallied six points apiece in the opening frame. Trinity Shearer boosted Lincoln’s scoring with a 3-pointer and Anna Lane sank two free throws.
Olivia Saylor, who led Garrard (6-13, 0-3) with 10 points, sank two free throws for the Lady Lions only points of the first quarter. Unfortunately for Garrard, the free throw line would produce all of its points in the first half as the team went 0-for-12 from the field in the first quarter and 0-for-11 in the second.
While the Lady Lions’ offense sputtered, the Lady Patriots continued lighting up the scoreboard in the second quarter, using an 18-2 scoring blitz to extend their lead to 35-7 at the half. King dropped in six points in the period, Maddy Boyle scored five points, Shearer had three and Wilks and Lane each had two.
Garrard was 5-for-6 at the line in the second quarter, with Ashlynn Clark and Madison Neeley converting two free throws apiece and Fran Montgomery getting one free throw toss.
Saylor would end Garrard’s scoring drought from the field early in the third quarter, hitting a jumper at the 7:03 mark. The Lady Lions would get five shots to fall in the period. Saylor added two three-point plays and Clark and Montgomery each scored a bucket as Garrard nearly matched Lincoln in scoring, 13-12.
Lincoln took a 48-19 lead into the final frame. Lydia Rice scored four points in the third, King hit a 3-pointer and Zaria Napier, Haleigh Releford and Wilks each scored a bucket.
“They’re scrappy,” McWhorter said of the Lady Lions. “I knew their record and that they didn’t have a lot of wins. But they’re scrappy. They were physical. They never gave up. And they’re not going to, it’s a district game. I don’t expect any district team to just lay down. They kept fighting, kept battling.”
Garrard’s offense would hit the deep freeze again in the fourth quarter as the Lady Lions finished 0-for-10. They were an icy 11 percent shooting for the night, going 5-for-47.
Lincoln closed on a 16-4 run, with King invoking a running clock with 4:38 to play with a layup off a steal. She had six points in the fourth. Napier drained a 3-pointer, Claudia Padgett and Ally Lynn scored a bucket apiece and Releford sank two free throws for the 64-23 final.
Lincoln shot 47 percent from the field, going 22-for-47. The Lady Pats were 15-for-20 at the foul line.
Garrard finished 13-for-16 at the line.
“I’m proud of our girls for fighting and am happy we could get everybody in to play tonight,” said McWhorter. “I think we’re getting back in the swing of things now after the layoff. Getting the kids back in school this week and getting a rhythm and routine will be good for us.”
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at Garrard Co.
Lincoln 17 18 13 16 – 64
Garrard 2 5 12 4 – 23
LINCOLN (14-4, 2-0) – Emma King 22, Kaitlynn Wilks 10, Maddy Boyle 7, Trinity Shearer 3, Zaria Napier 5, Anna Lane 4, Lydia Rice 4, Ally Lynn 3, Haleigh Releford 4, Claudia Padgett 2.
GARRARD (6-13, 0-3) – Ashlynn Clark 8, Fran Montgomery 3, Madison Neeley 2, Olivia Saylor 10.
