Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Wiley winning with Lady Wolves
LINCOLN — First year Lincoln girls basketball coach Brendan Wiley has the Lady Wolves (13-9, 4-2 3A-1) winning with two sophomores starting at the guard positions.
Sophomores Layni Birkes and Hannah Remington have meshed with senior forward Sarah Snodgrass, junior post Lena Skogen and junior forward Brinkley Moreton.
Wiley’s taken over a girls basketball program which has history displayed among the trophies won in the past in the showcases at Wolfpack Arena. The Lady Wolves have been a force in regionals in some years and a threat at state on occasion.
“It’s just an amazing opportunity. I just love the town, it’s got rich culture, a lot of pride that comes with that, too,” Wiley said. “The thing that I’m most excited about this year is our kids; they’re really hard workers, unselfish and they’re easy to coach. That makes it a lot of fun for sure, so I’m excited about the season, about the longevity of it, what we can do in a year.”
Snodgrass signed with JBU in August and hasn’t had to focus on that distraction during the season.
“Sarah is one of those that she’s determined. Yes, getting it out of the way was great for her just to know to have a lot of confidence that she’s going somewhere, too,” Wiley said, adding, “I think she’s also the kind of kid that if she hadn’t [signed early] it’s not going to defer away from her team or cause a lot of distractions for her, but I think it just builds a lot of pride in us knowing that we had a kid like that and I think the kids are just happy for her.”
Snodgrass intimidates certain opponents. They know they’re going to have to account for her.
“Teams take her very seriously and I think that’s a lot of credit to her, how hard she worked,” Wiley said.
The Lady Wolves run into opponents, who either try to dictate the tempo or avoid playing an up-tempo game. Wiley tries to prepare for opponents who play either style while still executing a game plan.
“It’s the kind of a thing you look at going into a game and watch film. You just kind of realize what they’re good at and what they’re going to try to do to you defensively and what they’re going to try to take away from you, and just put things in place to prepare for that,” Wiley said.
Wiley’s keys to success start with teamwork, a tangible part of team chemistry for this year’s Lady Wolves. He thinks, if Lincoln can play as a cohesive unit, they’ll continue to experience success.
“A lot of factors go into that. The biggest thing is togetherness,” Wiley said. “That’s why I love this group of kids; they’re so selfless. They don’t have any selfishness to them. I think that right there is a big part of why teams can succeed. That’s why I’m really excited about these girls too. They feel like a family. Being together is going to help things when we play.”
The third seeded Lady Wolves began 3A-1 District Tournament play on Tuesday after press time against the winner of Monday’s game between Green Forest and West Fork. A win will advance Lincoln into Wednesday’s late semifinal at Valley Springs scheduled for 6:30 p.m. and a regional berth.
ELKINS 43, LINCOLN 41
Caleb Hankins scored on a 15-foot jump shot to put Elkins ahead 28 seconds left and the Elks held on to earn a share of the 3A-1 Conference championship. John Townsend scored 10 points to lead Elkins (23-3, 10-2) while Bryson Karber had 10 to lead Lincoln. (21-8, 7-5). The third seeded Wolves began 3A-1 District Tournament play on Tuesday after press time against the winner of Monday’s game between Flippin and Green Forest, needing a win to advance to Wednesday’s 8:30 p.m. semifinal against Elkins and secure a spot in next week’s regional.