MIDDLE POINT — The experienced Lincolnview Lancers girls basketball team faced off with the youthful Jefferson Wildcats Thursday night at Lincolnview.
The experience showed in this Northwest Conference contest as the Lancers dominated the Wildcats 57-33.
The Wildcats are without freshman Kristin Klausing (out for the year after knee surgery) and sophomore Stephanie Blockberger (indefinitely with an injury).
As the Lancers got the tipoff, they got off to a great start with controlling the tempo of the game and not allowing the Wildcats to drive to the basket and score. The Wildcats were only able to get eight shots off in the first quarter as they turned the ball over a total of 28 times over the entire game.
The Lancers tallied 19 points in the first period. Jefferson struggled to get the ball past the press put on by the Lancers; they were not passing out of the trap but trying to dribble the ball through it. Senior Katie Honigford seemed to cause a problem for the Wildcats as she scored 14 of her 21 points in the first quarter.
“We didn’t take care of the ball as we tried to dribble out of the traps instead of passing out of them. They are a good quick team with a strong inside and guards,” stated Jefferson head coach Dave Hoffman.
Jefferson started hitting a few shots in the second period as they were able to tally nine points to the Lancers’ 10. At the break in play, the score was 29-11, the Lancers with the lead.
Freshman Bridget Culp had some blocks again that helped the Wildcats out some but the key for the visitors in this game was taking fewer shots which did not fall. Jefferson shot 32 percent from the field; Lincolnview only shot 36 percent. The real difference was how many shots the teams took as the Wildcats only had 34 to the Lancers’ 55.
“We got off to a good start which is what we needed to do. We were being aggressive and we set the tone of the game, which was good. This was a good win, especially against a young team that I expect to be very good,” noted Lincolnview head man Dave Evans.
The Lancers came out strong again after the break, scoring 16 in the third period. The only points Jefferson could tally in this period were three foul shots. Jefferson started handling the ball a lot better in the second half but they still ended up with twice as many turnovers in the game as the Lancers. At the end of the third period, the score was 45-14, home team.
“We need to attack the whole game and want the ball more than the other team. We will work hard on all these things and hope to improve as the season continues,” Hoffman added.
Jefferson sophomore Jenna Miller picked up the pace for the Wildcats in the final period as she started driving to the basket and drawing the foul as she ended up being the leading scorer for the Lady ’Cats with 12 points. She tallied 10 of the Wildcats’ 19 points in the period, finally outscoring the Lancers in a quarter, but it just wasn’t enough to get the job done.
Jefferson seemingly was unable to get second shots and Lincolnview seemed to get second shots almost every time they missed a shot. The home team outrebounded Jefferson by five.
“Katie played a good offense for us as Kylie (Honigford) did a nice job of scoring, rebounding and having assists. We played to get the win and it is always good to play well and win a league game,” added Evans.
The Wildcats drop off to .500 with a record of 4-4 and 0-3 in the league. They will face off with the Van Wert Cougars Dec. 28th at 6 p.m.; this game will be played at the Jefferson Middle School.
The Lancers increased to 5-3 with a record of 2-1 in the league. They will host Parkway on Thursday.
In JV action, the Lancers prevailed 32-25. Jefferson’s leading scorer was Morgan Fischbach (13 points) and the Lancers’ leading scorer was Stacy Giessler (10).
