STANFORD — Some wins aren’t pretty. In fact, some wins are just downright ugly. But a win’s a win, right?

Lincoln girls coach Cassandra McWorter wouldn’t argue that point after the Lady Patriots’ 65-51 win over visiting Somerset Monday night.

“An ugly win is better than a pretty loss,” she said. 

And a masterpiece in basketball it wasn’t. However, the sign of a good team is its ability to win when not playing its best. Lincoln was not at its best in the 12th Region contest, shooting just 37 percent for the night (24-for-65). The Lady Patriots’ offense was off from the opening frame, as they made good on only eight of 22 shot attempts in the first quarter.

Regardless, with the exception of a brief spell early in the first period when Somerset took a 5-2 lead on an Addi Bowling 3-pointer and a bucket in the paint by Rachel Presley, Lincoln never trailed. 

The Lady Patriots opened on a 22-8 run in the first quarter and led by as many as 29 points in the fourth quarter before the Lady Jumpers surged late, outscoring Lincoln 17-2 to whittle the margin down to 14 points at the final horn.

“It was a sluggish game I just felt like,” McWhorter said. “We were creating turnovers and they were in a 3-2 zone, and I thought we settled early for a lot of outside jumpers rather than attacking the rim or getting the ball into the paint or getting to the rim off the dribble. And we weren’t making our shots. The last few games at home we’ve hit a lot of our shots early and then we kind of got on a roll. Tonight, shots weren’t falling early and I think it affected our defensive intensity when those shots weren’t falling.”

Emma King and Maddy Boyle led Lincoln’s scoring in the win, finishing with 15 points apiece. King pushed in 12 of her 15 points in the first half, including bombing in three 3-pointers, as the Lady Patriots opened up a 39-20 hafltime lead. Zaria Napier also finished in double figures with 13 points.

Somerset (9-17) was within 12-8 after a Presley three-point play when Lincoln broke on a 17-5 run to blow the game wide open. Napier ignited the run with 2:30 left in the first quarter, sinking a free throw toss. Napier and King both nailed a 3-pointer in the run, Kaitlynn Wilks scored four points, and Boyle, Anna Lane and Lydia Rice each had two points as the Lady Patriots expanded their lead to 29-13 with 5:34 left in the second quarter. Tatyana Brown, who had 12 points for the Lady Jumpers, interrupted the Lincoln run with a 3-point goal and Bowling, who finished with 11 points, had a bucket.

Lincoln (20-6) closed the first half on another run, outscoring Somerset 10-2 in the final 3:31. Rice capped off the run with a field goal to put the Lady Pats up 39-20 at the half. 

The Lady Patriots continued to outscore the Lady Jumpers in the third quarter, edging the visitors 16-14 to make it a 55-34 ballgame heading into the final period.

Somerset would turn the tables on Lincoln in the fourth quarter, cutting into the Lady Patriot lead with a 17-2 closing run. The Lady Patriots had opened the fourth on a 8-0 run, with Boyle draining a 3-pointer and a field goal and King adding three points for the team’s largest lead of the game, 63-34, when Presley, who led the Lady Jumpers with 14 points, scored inside to open the Lady Jumper run. She scored half of her points in the final run. 

Percentage-wise, Somerset outshot Lincoln, connecting on 51 percent of its shots. However, the Lady Jumpers didn’t take nearly as many shots as the Lady Patriots, going 19-for-37 from the field compared to Lincoln’s 24-for-65 effort.

Turnovers cut down on Somerset’s scoring opportunities with 26 miscues made in the game. Lincoln had eight turnovers.

“We just didn’t get what we are fully capable of getting out of our team tonight,” McWhorter said. “You know, you still come away with a win, which is important. And I think it’s our 20th of the year, which is awesome, so congrats to our girls on a 20-win season. It’s just not how we’ve been playing here as of late and how we know we’re capable of playing.  We felt a little flat and, even after the game’s over, it felt like we’d maybe lost by 12 or 15.  Not a lot of communication and not a lot energy tonight.”

“We come away with a win over a regional team, but this late and this close to district tournament starting, you’d like for it to be a little better win.”

******

at Lincoln Co.

Somerset 8 12 14 17 – 51
Lincoln 22 17 16 10 – 65

SOMERSET (9-17) – Tatyana Brown 12, Ashley Holt 7, Addi Bowling 11, Lauren Foutch 4, Rachel Presley 14, Payton Acey 3.
LINCOLN (20-6) – Emma King 15, Kaitlynn Wilks 8, Maddy Boyle 15, Trinity Shearer 4, Zaria Napier 13, Anna Lane 5, Lydia Rice 5.