Lady Patriots dominate Garrard; roll 56-15

Published 12:40 pm Thursday, January 17, 2019

STANFORD — The Lincoln County girls basketball team recorded its fifth (and second straight) 40-plus point blowout of the season.

The Garrard County Lady Lions could not keep pace with the host Lady Patriots Tuesday night as Lincoln scored 25 points in the first quarter and held a 38-9 advantage at halftime before moving on for a 56-15 45th District win.

“I thought it was important for us to come out and do well,” Lincoln coach Cassandra McWhorter said. “Mentality-wise you worry about the girls. They look at stat lines and they look at scores, too, and they knew Boyle had beat Garrard. You come into this game hoping that your mentality is still there and you’re trying to make sure that your players are prepared. And they were.”

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The Lady Patriots (13-2, 3-0 45th District) led from the start, with Emma King taking the opening tip inside to ignite a 13-0 Lincoln run. Maddy Boyle, Kaitlynn Wilks and Zaria Napier would also score in the paint before King closed the run with a 3-pointer.

Garrard (2-16. 0-3) would score only three points in the opening frame. The Lady Lions shot just 11 percent overall (5-for-45) from the field and got just one of 14 first-quarter shots to fall. Jade Pevley, who led Garrard with 10 points, tallied the lone field goal in the first.

Lincoln had a trio of double-digit scorers in the win, with Napier, Wilks and King leading the team. Napier had a game-high 13 points, Wilks followed with 12 points and King had 11.

Napier added a 3-pointer and another field goal in the opening frame, Wilks had two more field goals and King sank two free throws as Lincoln posted a 25-3 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Lincoln shot 62.5 percent from the field in the first quarter, using a 10-for-16 effort to put the game away early. The Lady Patriots finished at 43 percent overall (25-for-58).

Lincoln’s lead was never threatened. The Lady Patriots opened the second half on a 12-0 run to extend their run to 50-9. They led by at least 39 points the rest of the way.

While the starting five provided the bulk of the game’s scoring, McWhorter made good use of her bench in the lopsided win.

“I was pleased with how we started the game. We came out clicking,” said McWhorter. “Then, when the reserves come in, you see some good things. You see some things that they need to work on as well, but that they can come in and keep the level of play high and continue the ballgame.”

“I’m pleased with our mentality of staying in the game. You don’t want your play to go backwards in these games. You want your intensity to stay high and to keep doing things crisp and sharp.”

After back-to-back blowouts, McWhorter says she is anxious to see how the Lady Patriots will come out Thursday night against George Rogers Clark in the Toyota Classic at Scott County.

“I’m curious to see how we do Thursday when the competition is going to be higher,” she said. “I’m curious to see how we mentally and physically show up from the get-go.”

At Lincoln Co.

Garrard 3 6 4 2 – 15
Lincoln 25 13 16 2 – 56

GARRARD (2-16) – Brittany Butner 1, Hallie Martin 2, Jade Pevley 10, Chloe Zeznanski 2.

LINCOLN (13-2) – Emma King 11, Kaitlynn Wilks 12, Maddy Boyle 8, Trinity Shearer 4, Zaria Napier 13, Anna Lane 3, Haleigh Releford 4, Claudia Padgett 1.