STANFORD — The Lincoln County Lady Patriot basketball team ended its weekend of action with a second big win.

The No. 14 Lady Patriots notched a 79-64 win over 45th District rival Danville Friday night then turned around to cap off the weekend with a 60-50 win over No. 10 Anderson County Saturday in the Patriot Classic at LCHS.

“It was a good win. Anderson is a very good team, a well-coached team,” Lincoln coach Cassandra McWhorter said. “After a good game last night against Danville, I worried about our legs a little bit. But I was proud of the girls and how they came out and took care of business tonight.”

Anderson (13-4) held a share of the lead early in the game before Lincoln overtook the visitors, using a 13-3 scoring run in the final 5:52 of the first quarter to go on top to stay, 19-11.

Emma King, who finished with 15 point in the win, ignited the 13-3 run with a 3-pointer. Maddy Boyle, who led Lincoln with 18 points, scored a bucket in the paint and added her own 3-pointer, Kaitlynn Wilks, the third Lady Pat in double figures with 14 points, had a bucket and a free-throw toss and Haleigh Releford capped off the run with a putback.

“We kind of got in a groove there late in the first quarter and were able to score and get in a rhythm,” said McWhorter.

The only hiccup in Lincoln’s opening 13-3 run was a Jaclynn Ruble 3-pointer, the second of three for the senior guard who finished with a game-high 22 points. Sixteen of those 22 points came in the first half as Ruble worked to keep Anderson in the game.

“Defensively, I would have liked to have seen us step up and stop the Ruble kid a little bit better the first half. She had a heck of a first half,” said McWhorter.

The Lady Patriots (11-2) led by at least six points in the second quarter and maintained a double-digit lead for most of the second half.

An 11-point margin was Lincoln’s largest lead of the first half, with Trinity Shearer draining a 3-pointer at the 5:32 mark of the second quarter to put the Lady Pats up 26-15. Anderson answered the Shearer trey with five straight points, with Ruble hitting another 3-pointer and Tiffany Riley adding a jumper to get the Lady Bearcats as close as 26-20.

Lincoln posted a 32-24 lead at the half.

Anderson’s Sophie Smith bombed in a 3-pointer midway through the third quarter to make it a single-digit ballgame, 39-31. But that would be the only time Lincoln’s lead dipped below double digits the second half as Wilks answered with two field goals for the Lady Patriots and King added another to extend the margin out to 45-31.

Lincoln was up 48-35 at the end of the third quarter and led by as many as 15 points in the final frame. Shearer hit with 2:29 to play for the 56-41 margin. Anderson closed on a 9-5 run before the final buzzer, though, to cut Lincoln’s lead to 10 points. Ruble scored four points in the run, Amiah Mason nailed a 3-pointer and Smith added a bucket for the 60-50 final.

“We were able to get in an offensive flow late in the first quarter and just kind of extended to stayed in the lead,” said McWhorter. “I’m proud of us for holding onto it. I’d like to see us go ahead and extend that lead. We did get to 12 or maybe 15 at one time. I’d like to see us go ahead and get it to 20 and more rather than let them chip away at it in the fourth quarter and cut it back down to 10. Still a good win over a very good ball club.”

Lincoln shot 40 percent from the field, going 22-for-55 overall. The Lady Pats were 12-for-17 at the foul line.

Anderson shot 46.5 percent from the field, converting on 20 of 43 shot attempts. The Lady Bearcats were 4-for-6 at the line.

Patriot Classic
At Lincoln Co.

Anderson 11 13 11 15 – 50
Lincoln 19 13 16 12 – 60

ANDERSON (13-4) – Jaclynn Ruble 22, Sophie Smith 9, Tiffany Riley 8, Rachel Satterly 4, Amiah Mason 3, Jacie Chesser 4.

LINCOLN (11-2) – Emma King 15, Kaitlynn Wilks 14, Maddy Boyle 18, Trinity Shearer 7, Zaria Napier 4, Haleigh Releford 2.