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Lincoln County¿s Chansler Gilbert (25) and Kourtney Belcher pressure Rockcastle guard Sarah Adams during the first half of the Patriots¿ 68-35 win Friday. (Nancy Leedy / December 2, 2012) |
MOUNT VERNON — The Lincoln County girls’ basketball team picked up its second big road win of the week Friday night, handily defeating Rockcastle County 68-35 at Rock Arena.
Lincoln fell behind to start the game, but senior Kourtney Belcher sparked a 16-4 run with a steal and a basket that would eventually earn the Lady Patriots the lead — one which they would never relinquish.
“I thought we did a good job. From top-to-bottom, everybody that played tonight contributed in some way,” Lincoln coach Cassandra McWhorter said. “For us to be successful and do the things we want to do, they have to be able to do that. That’s why I dress the players I dress and, if your number is called you get out there and do what you are supposed to do. And they did that tonight, all of them.”
The Patriots (2-0) were led by Emily Fox with 19 points. Sydney Harris followed with 12 points, Belcher added 10 points and Chansler Gilbert just missed double digits with eight points.
Scoring was at a minimum early in the game, with just one shot to fall in the first 3 minutes, 51 seconds of play. Sarah Adams got Rockcastle (0-2) on the scoreboard first, hitting two minutes in with her only bucket of the game, a 3-pointer. It wasn’t until the clock hit 4 minutes that Belcher scored for Lincoln on a fastbreak layin.
After a Rockcastle timeout, Lincoln nailed its next six shot attempts to overtake the Rockets. Fox scored a layup off a steal, Belcher hit again and Gilbert connected for three field goals to push the Patriots up 12-5. Four straight Fox free throws to the end the first made it 16-7.
Lincoln didn’t give the dust time to settle before it was off and gunning on its next scoring surge, with Fox hitting early in the second quarter to ignite a 24-9 run and blow the game wide open.
“We did a good job when we started pressuring the ball a little bit,” McWhorter said. “We went to the zone and tried to force them to shoot some outside shots. We were able to get some rebounds and push the ball and get some easy buckets. Once we get some easy buckets, it gets us going a little bit and I was happy we were able to do that.”
The Patriots, who went 26-for-59 from the field overall for 44 percent, scorched the nets with 9-for-13 shooting in the second quarter while the Lady Rockets struggled on 3-for-11 shooting. Lincoln got 3-pointers from Ciara Saylor, Harris and Caitlin Adams in the run, with Adams hitting a buzzer-beater to put Lincoln up 40-16 at the half.
Michaela Hunter, who led Rockcastle with 18 points, scored six of the Lady Rockets nine points in the second quarter. While Hunter got her points, McWhorter was pleased with Lincoln’s defense on the senior guard.
“I’m just thankful that she wasn’t able to get going,” McWhorter said. “She’s been on experienced teams and had success. She’s a nice player and a tough player and can hurt you.”
Rockcastle went 14-for-38 from the field overall for 37 percent.
Lincoln was 10-for-15 at the foul line and Rockcastle was 6-for-16. Lincoln had six turnovers compared to Rockcastle’s 20.
Lincoln County 16 40 58 68
Rockcastle County 7 16 27 35
LINCOLN (2-0) — Emily Fox 19, Ciara Saylor 3, Sydney Harris 12, Kourtney Belcher 10, Chansler Gilbert 8, Spencer Sims 3, Caitlin Hall 5, Cristin Hall 2, Caitlin Adams 6.
ROCKCASTLE (0-2) — Sarah Adams 3, Alexis Chasteen 7, Michaela Hunter 18, Kayla Reynolds 2, Alaina Coguer 1, Mahala Saylor 2, Rebekah Ponder 2.
Lincoln fell behind to start the game, but senior Kourtney Belcher sparked a 16-4 run with a steal and a basket that would eventually earn the Lady Patriots the lead — one which they would never relinquish.
“I thought we did a good job. From top-to-bottom, everybody that played tonight contributed in some way,” Lincoln coach Cassandra McWhorter said. “For us to be successful and do the things we want to do, they have to be able to do that. That’s why I dress the players I dress and, if your number is called you get out there and do what you are supposed to do. And they did that tonight, all of them.”
The Patriots (2-0) were led by Emily Fox with 19 points. Sydney Harris followed with 12 points, Belcher added 10 points and Chansler Gilbert just missed double digits with eight points.
Scoring was at a minimum early in the game, with just one shot to fall in the first 3 minutes, 51 seconds of play. Sarah Adams got Rockcastle (0-2) on the scoreboard first, hitting two minutes in with her only bucket of the game, a 3-pointer. It wasn’t until the clock hit 4 minutes that Belcher scored for Lincoln on a fastbreak layin.
After a Rockcastle timeout, Lincoln nailed its next six shot attempts to overtake the Rockets. Fox scored a layup off a steal, Belcher hit again and Gilbert connected for three field goals to push the Patriots up 12-5. Four straight Fox free throws to the end the first made it 16-7.
Lincoln didn’t give the dust time to settle before it was off and gunning on its next scoring surge, with Fox hitting early in the second quarter to ignite a 24-9 run and blow the game wide open.
“We did a good job when we started pressuring the ball a little bit,” McWhorter said. “We went to the zone and tried to force them to shoot some outside shots. We were able to get some rebounds and push the ball and get some easy buckets. Once we get some easy buckets, it gets us going a little bit and I was happy we were able to do that.”
The Patriots, who went 26-for-59 from the field overall for 44 percent, scorched the nets with 9-for-13 shooting in the second quarter while the Lady Rockets struggled on 3-for-11 shooting. Lincoln got 3-pointers from Ciara Saylor, Harris and Caitlin Adams in the run, with Adams hitting a buzzer-beater to put Lincoln up 40-16 at the half.
Michaela Hunter, who led Rockcastle with 18 points, scored six of the Lady Rockets nine points in the second quarter. While Hunter got her points, McWhorter was pleased with Lincoln’s defense on the senior guard.
“I’m just thankful that she wasn’t able to get going,” McWhorter said. “She’s been on experienced teams and had success. She’s a nice player and a tough player and can hurt you.”
Rockcastle went 14-for-38 from the field overall for 37 percent.
Lincoln was 10-for-15 at the foul line and Rockcastle was 6-for-16. Lincoln had six turnovers compared to Rockcastle’s 20.
Lincoln County 16 40 58 68
Rockcastle County 7 16 27 35
LINCOLN (2-0) — Emily Fox 19, Ciara Saylor 3, Sydney Harris 12, Kourtney Belcher 10, Chansler Gilbert 8, Spencer Sims 3, Caitlin Hall 5, Cristin Hall 2, Caitlin Adams 6.
ROCKCASTLE (0-2) — Sarah Adams 3, Alexis Chasteen 7, Michaela Hunter 18, Kayla Reynolds 2, Alaina Coguer 1, Mahala Saylor 2, Rebekah Ponder 2.
