Lincoln senior notches 1,000 career points

LINCOLN — There were moments Sarah Snodgrass wondered if the day her dream of scoring 1,000 points would ever arrive.

Hampered by a ACL tear on her right knee, Snodgrass sat out all her sophomore year after an impressive freshman girls basketball campaign when she broke into the varsity starting lineup, averaging 21 points and 11 rebounds per game for Lincoln.

On the verge of working her way back, she experienced pain during Alpha workouts in July of 2022 and was diagnosed with a second ACL tear, this time on her left knee that forced her to undergo a second rehabilitation. That process seemed drawn out and she didn’t get clearance to play until her junior season was more than halfway over in January of 2023.

Snodgrass had resumed practicing with the team and was just getting back into the swing of exploring recruiting options when her left knee started to hurt. A medical exam revealed it was torn. Lincoln was involved in a football scrimmage that night and Snodgrass remembers crying right up until the start of the game.

In retrospect Snodgrass looks for the silver lining in the clouds of despair that confronted her.

“I think it was a blessing with God allowing me to see my potential outside of basketball and to see all the support I have here at Lincoln,” Snodgrass said.

She won’t take that for granted.

“Even if I wasn’t in position to get 1,000 points, God allowed me to see that all my friends are there supporting me,” Snodgrass said. “Coach [Brendan] Wiley’s been a really great support. He encourages me in everything I do.”

But with the same tenacity Snodgrass displays in the open court or offensive glass, she committed to overcoming adversity.

The interruptions prolonged her dream of achieving 1,000 career points, a feat Snodgrass finally realized during a lopsided, 70-37, loss to Mansfield in the Bill Frye Invitational tournament on Wednesday, Dec. 27.

“It was definitely one of my goals. Whenever it became a possibility this year it was really exciting,” Snodgrass said. “My teammates really encouraged me and pushed me to get it done. It was awesome.”

The 5-feet-11 senior didn’t know exactly how close she was to reaching 1,000 career points, but the light came on when she noticed her extended family and several of her teachers in the stands during the pre-game warmups.

The first bucket she made, a 3-pointer from the top-of-the-key, nearly brought the house down.

“My teammates on the bench went crazy,” Snodgrass said. “My classmates, the girls I’ve been playing basketball with ever since I can remember, Morgan Reeves, Kaylin Osnes, Zella Pomeroy and Kristine Rhine, were really happy for me.”

Former coach Emilianne Cox and her husband were among Lincoln fans making the trip to Mansfield to support Snodgrass. Cox coached Snodgrass for her first three seasons, encompassing both rehabs.

“I was a little bit off my game. We had to take a loss that night,” Snodgrass said.

Yet the triumph overwhelmed the disappointment of not competing better against Mansfield, which got six 3-pointers from Kynslee Ward who scored 22 points to go with 6 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 assists. Harlie Fuller tossed in 19 points with five 3-pointers and handed out 5 assists.

Kaylee Ward finished with 16 points, 12 rebounds, 4 blocks, 4 steals and 2 assists in spite of suffering a chipped tooth in the first quarter,

A fourth player in double figures for Mansfield (120), Alyson Edwards, had 13 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. In a rare occurrence, two players both went over 1,000 points in the same game. During the second quarter, Edwards scored the 1,000th point of her career.

Snodgrass’ father, Lincoln assistant coach Joe Snodgrass, and mother Leann Snodgrass, who’s never missed one of her games, rejoiced at her achievement as did her younger sister, Carrie, a Lincoln freshman, and grandparents, Vance and Kathy Snodgrass.

“My dad hugged me and told me that he was really proud of me,” Snodgrass said, adding, “My grandparents, I couldn’t do it without them. They’ve been to every one of my games this year.”

Carrie latched onto her big sister, voiced congratulations and took a selfie so she could proudly post it on social media. A host of Lincoln fans turned out, including some of those closest to Snodgrass.

“My teacher, Mrs. Hailey Robinson, and her daughter who I babysit for her (sixyear-old Scarlett), were there,” Snodgrass said.

Snodgrass finished with 20 points against Mansfield. Her career point total now stands at 1,055 after she scored 37 points the following night in a win over Waldron.