Elkins bumps Lincoln Girls around

LINCOLN — Elkins outscored Lincoln 32-28 in the second half to pull off a 53-52 win on a free throw with 9 seconds left in 3A-1 Conference girls basketball action at Wolfpack Arena Friday.

Lincoln was up 52-44 on Lily Riherd’s free throws with 3:14 to go, but didn’t score again. The Lady Wolves missed the front end of a 1-and-1, then suffered a turnover when Sarah Snodgrass was forced out of bounds while dribbling the ball up court. A lot of contact ensued on the play, but no foul was called.

Lincoln turned the ball over again when they didn’t advance the ball across midcourt and had a pass deflected, drawing more protests from the home fans who wanted a foul called on both plays.

Elkins got a basket to cut the lead to 52-46. Neither team scored for over a minute until Elkins’ Aleisha McGowan took a steal in for a layup with 1:07 showing.

Taylar Brannan’s free throws edged the Lady Elks even closer at 52-50 and Elkins earned a tie on Lacey VanAmburg’s steal and layup with 45.4 seconds left.

Lincoln coach Emilianne Cox took time-out and the Lady Wolves got a 3-point shot off that rimmed out. McGowan then hit the winning free throw with the Elks getting a call in their favor. Cox again called time and McGowan missed the second free throw. Lincoln got the ball upcourt and tried to get a shot off that was hotly contested in the paint. No foul was called and the clock ran out, leaving Lincoln with a 53-52 loss.

The Lady Wolves played better in the early going.

Tabor Lewis hit from the corner to give Lincoln a 13-9 lead after one period of play.

Elkins missed two layups with the second quarter winding down. Makayla Quinn came away with the rebound while sitting on the floor and passed off to Snodgrass. She threw a long outlet to Lena Skogen, who used a pump fake to allow a defender to go by, then laid the ball in as Lincoln maintained a 24-21 lead at intermission.

Snodgrass drew a foul on an inbounds play with 3.2 seconds left in the third quarter and sank a free throw to give Lincoln a 38-37 lead as the period ended.

The Lady Wolves began 3A-1 District tournament play against tournament host West Fork on Monday.

Mark Humphrey/Enterprise-Leader Lincoln senior guard Lily Riherd launches a 3-point attempt from the wing. The Lady Wolves lost a heartbreaker, 53-52, at home to Elkins in the final game of the regular season on Friday.