Lincoln Defeats Wells in Battle of PIL Dark Horses

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Lincoln Cardinals (6-6, 2-1 PIL) scored a big 49-45 road victory over the Ida B. Wells Guardians (5-6, 0-2) in a Friday night Portland Interscholastic League matchup.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As usual, the PIL is deep with basketball talent. It boasts a bona fide 6A championship contender in the Benson Tech Astros, but several other schools could make them uncomfortable. Wells and Lincoln are two schools whose records don't stand out due to tough opening schedules, but they have the talent to make noise. Both are vying for one of the three automatic postseason bids for their conference, and Friday's game indicated that it may be a tight race to the finish line.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The first quarter was [player_tooltip player_id='1232853' first='Jasa' last='Lindsey']'s quarter. She banked in a three for the first points of the game and ended the quarter with a buzzer-beating reverse finish. Her seven points, two rebounds, and one assist powered the Cardinals to a 10-9 lead. She made nearly every play for Lincoln and showcased her three-level scoring, pick-and-roll acumen, and her ability to control the pace of the offense. Lincoln did commit ten turnovers in the quarter, which kept Wells in the game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lincoln's Willow Dolin Martin took over the second quarter defensively. Her four steals were a big reason Wells was only scored four in the quarter. Five different Cardinals scored in the second, including [player_tooltip player_id='842685' first='Siri' last='Lindsey'], who hit a corner three assisted by Eva Keenan with 1:40 left in the half. On the next possession, Martin would deliver a great pick-and-roll feed to an open Keenan, who nailed the floater to give Lincoln 20 points at the half. Wells's Margo Denny scored five of the Guardians' 13.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Shots began to fall for both teams as soon as the second half began. [player_tooltip player_id='842685' first='Siri' last='Lindsey'] scored seven for Lincoln in the third, mostly on hard-earned free throws. Her sister Jada went to work on the glass, picking up 10 rebounds — six offensive — through three quarters of play. Wells's Ava McMahon added a three-pointer, and Laura Devlin scored a team-high four in the quarter, but the Guardians still trailed 36-27 heading into the fourth quarter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A frenetic fourth quarter ensued. An [player_tooltip player_id='1222751' first='Annalee' last='Cohen'] three got the packed Wells crowd going, but Lincoln seized the momentum. [player_tooltip player_id='1232853' first='Jasa' last='Lindsey'] scored the Cardinals' first six points of the quarter before two consecutive breakaway steal-and-scores from Keenan and Martin put the Cardinals up 46-31 two minutes in.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>However, a well-timed timeout from Wells coach Glen Coblens seemed to spark his team. An 8-0 Wells run ensued over the next 90 seconds, capped off by an off-balance shot from Devlin. [player_tooltip player_id='1232853' first='Jasa' last='Lindsey'] would add one more layup with 3:55 left, but that would be the last field goal Lincoln would score all game. Cohen would then connect on another three to cut it to a 48-43 Wells deficit with 1:20 to go.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It looked like the Guardians had an opportunity to make it a one-possession game when they stole two Lincoln inbounds passes in the final minute, but the takeaways led to just a single point on a split pair of free throws from Devlin. [player_tooltip player_id='1321201' first='Hannah' last='Hewa'] then tied up Keenan to get Wells the ball back down by four with 26 to go, but a five-second violation on Wells was the nail in the coffin.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Lindsey sisters were Lincoln's stars of the show. [player_tooltip player_id='1232853' first='Jasa' last='Lindsey'] finished with 15 points, 10 rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block, while [player_tooltip player_id='842685' first='Siri' last='Lindsey'] recorded 13 points on eight made free throws, five rebounds, five assists and six steals. Martin also added six steals, and the Cardinals forced 25 turnovers as a team. Wells fought hard to the end, with Devlin scoring a team-high 11 to go with three offensive rebounds, two assists and a steal. Denny was close behind with 10 points, and Cohen was a big part of the late-game surge, scoring all seven of her points in the fourth quarter. Hewa scored just four but led the Guardians with six rebounds and four steals.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lincoln should get a major confidence boost from winning consecutive games for the first time this season. The Lindsey sisters look like one of the more dynamic duos in the conference, and they are sure to catch some teams by surprise.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>PIL basketball continues on Tuesday, when Lincoln hosts Jefferson and Wells goes on the road to face Franklin. Both games start at 6 p.m.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->