West Fork Ousts Lady Wolves

WEST FORK — Lincoln girls basketball coach Emilianne Cox tried in vain to get the attention of an official after two charging fouls were called against Lincoln freshman star Sarah Snodgrass.

Both calls were made by the same official and came during the fourth quarter, playing a factor in West Fork maintaining its lead down the stretch. The game resulted in a 51-36 loss for the Lady Wolves on Saturday, Feb. 13, during District 3A-1 Tournament play, which ended the girls basketball season for Lincoln.

Lincoln played tough early. After trailing 12-9 at the end of the first period, Lincoln gave West Fork fits in the second quarter. Snodgrass drilled a trifecta, then senior Landree Cunningham swiped a Lady Tiger outlet pass and drew a foul. Seconds later, she came up with yet another steal and wound up sitting on the hardwood.

From there, Cunningham had the presence of mind to find Snodgrass cutting hard to the basket for a layup. Lily Riherd added a free-throw, cutting West Fork’s lead to 17-16 and initiating a timeout by the Lady Tigers at the 4:02 mark.

Lincoln continued to play very aggressive on both ends of the court and tied the game at 22-22 on a pair of Cunningham free-throws when she saw an opening and quickly drove to the hoop. West Fork got the last basket of the half to take a two-point, 24-22, edge into the locker room.

Lincoln managed only four points in the third quarter and fell behind 37-26.

Ryleigh Landrum opened the fourth with a 3-pointer for Lincoln, but the Lady Wolves soon found themselves down by 12 following baskets by Lillian Hauser and Emma Neyman breaking their press. The first controversial charging call against Snodgrass occurred at the 6:30 mark of the fourth, but that didn’t diminish Lincoln’s effort.

Cunningham snapped an 18- footer, then Snodgrass looked off the defense and successfully made a layup while finishing a drive. Riherd’s trifecta capped a 7-0 Lady Wolves’ run and brought Lincoln within 41-36 with Cox taking time- out with 5:02 remaining.

The second controversial charging call showed up with 4:10 left and West Fork scored the last 10 points of the game to earn a 51-36 win and advance in the tournament.