Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Fouls Handicap Lincoln Girls
ELKINS — Seriously handicapped by foul trouble Lincoln couldn’t guard Elkins in the post and lost 46-32 Friday while slipping further towards finishing third among 3A-1 West girls basketball teams.
Elkins’ center Tiara Jackson scored 16 points with many coming in the absence of Lincoln starter Robin Kirk, who had three fouls called on her early in the first quarter which ended with Elkins ahead, 10-3.
Lincoln coach Emilianne Slamons gambled reinserting Kirk in the second quarter. Kirk helped the Lady Wolves find their offense cleaning up a teammate’s miss and scoring on a drive after catching the ball in the paint, but the whistles kept coming and Kirk was called for her fourth foul with 2:20 remaining in the first half.
Elkins led 17-12 at the half and widened the gap aided by a pair of charging fouls against Lincoln forward Kyli Jenkins, who went to the bench with her third personal and was replaced by Kirk with 1:22 elapsed in the third. Elkins led 20-12 at that juncture and they soon upped it to 10 points. Jackson elbowed Kirk away while driving to the basket. Kirk couldn’t defend because she had four fouls, but her playing time lasted only a little over the next three minutes. She was called for her fifth foul while trying to deny an entry pass into the post and sat out the final 11:33.
At the end of the third quarter only one foul had been assessed against Elkins while Lincoln had five and the Lady Elks led 31-20.
With Kirk and Jenkins, the only two Lincoln players physically capable of checking Jackson, on the bench, she scored 6 points in the fourth. Jackson relentlessly overpowered any opponent whom she came into contact with. She blocked a shot by Lincoln’s Landree Cunningham. The block was clean, but Jackson’s momentum brought her crashing down on Cunningham, whose face bounced off the gym floor. No foul was called.
The tough Lincoln sophomore cowgirl laughed it off and jumped to her feet ready to play on.
Trailing 37-20 Slamons subbed in several reserves with 6:16 to go. Senior Trinity Adair, a 5-1 sharpshooter, provided an offensive spark by making a trio of 3-pointers, the last coming after Jackson blocked an Adair trey. Unfazed Adair took a pass from Abby Goldman off a steal and sank her third trifecta from the right corner. Adair led the Lady Wolves with 9 points.
Lincoln point-guard Tania Ortiz gave Jackson a taste of her own medicine when she hustled and blasted Jackson’s lay-up attempt out-of-bounds with 2:39 left.
With the win, Elkins ( 18- 5, 10-2) holds a two-game edge over Lincoln (16-8, 8-4) in the race for the second seed in the 3A-1 West.