Lilly Labrie looks to pass during Lincoln Academy’s 37-35 loss to Medomak on Wednesday, Jan. 21 in Newcastle. (Mic LeBel photo)
The Lincoln Academy girls basketball team avenged a loss to Medomak Valley in the Panthers’ ninth annual Paws for the Cause “Pink Out” game on Tuesday, Jan. 27. As was the case in the two teams’ first matchup, the game came down to the wire, with the Eagles winning 36-34.
The helter-skelter game saw 62 turnovers, with Lincoln giving away 35 and the Panthers 27. The Eagles dominated the boards for a 31-12 advantage.
Lincoln jumped out to a 10-7 first quarter lead. Medomak held the Eagles to three points in the second period while scoring 11 to build an 18-13 lead at the half.
The Panthers extended their lead to six in the third frame, before Lilly Labrie scored back-to-back hoops to pull Lincoln within two, 23-21, by the quarter’s end.
Sienna Lee splits through Eagle defenders Chloe Anderson and Rowan Coffin. (Paula Roberts photo)
Labrie tied the game at the foul line eight seconds into the fourth quarter. Chloe Fox crashed the glass to retake the lead for Medomak. Rowan Coffin settled a long ball and Brea Lafrenaye scored back-to-back hoops, including one off a steal, to give LA a five-point lead.
Fox stole the ball and scored to pull Medomak within three. Coffin drained another three for a six-point Eagle lead. Fox sank a foul shot and Anna Reed a long ball and a foul shot to pull Medomak to within one with 1:48 to play.
Chloe Anderson sank a foul shot with 1:13 to go and Labrie nailed two from the charity stripe with 56 seconds remaining to boost LA’s lead to four. Reed pulled Medomak within two with 34 seconds to play.
Medomak had the ball knocked out of bounds with five seconds to play. They inbounded the ball, which was then batted around, with Eagle Labrie gaining control as time expired on a Panther comeback.
Scoring for Lincoln were Labrie with 13 (9R, 3S), Coffin 12 (3R, 3S), Lafrenaye 6 (6S), Anderson 4 (3R), and Olivia Ball 1 (10R). Scoring for Medomak were Fox with 9 (3R, 7S), Rachel Barbour 7, Reed 7 (2S), Sienna Lee 6 (3R, 7S), and Claudia Feeley 5 (3R).
Players watch as Rachel Barbour releases the winning shot with less than a second remaining to boost Medomak Valley to a 37-35 comeback victory over Lincoln Academy on Wednesday, Jan. 21 in Newcastle. (Mic LeBel photo)
Medomak 37 – Lincoln 35
The Lady Panthers and Eagles clashed in a classic cross-county rivalry on Wednesday, Jan. 21 in the Eagles nest. Trailing by 10 early in the fourth quarter, Medomak rallied with a 14-2 run in the final four and a half minutes to beat the hosts 37-35.
Rachel Barbour came off the bench in the fourth quarter for an assist, steal and winning basket. The two teams battled to a 6-6 tie at the end of one and Medomak held a 17-14 lead at the half.
With 31 first half turnovers split almost evenly between both teams, neither the Panthers nor Eagles could generate much offense. Rowan Coffin lit up the nets for six second quarter points for Lincoln and Chloe Fox netted 10 first half points for the Panthers.
Lincoln took care of the ball in the third period, adding two turnovers while forcing eight Panther mistakes. Eagles Coffin and Brea Lafrenaye had two steals each and Maggie Thompson had one. Lincoln Academy took advantage of the turnovers to build a 28-23 lead at the end of three.
Olivia Ball scored on a Chloe Anderson feed and Coffin hit a big three to give LA a 10-point lead early in the final period.
Medomak put their defense in overdrive, forcing 13 Eagle turnovers down the stretch to secure the win. Sienna Lee jump-started the rally with a basket. Molly Emerson came off the bench to score on a Fox feed to pull the Panthers within six.
Coffin boosted the lead to eight at the foul line with 1:40 to play. Fox scored on a Barbour pass before sophomore Anna Reed took over. Reed sank a long ball for three after Barbour stole the ball. Reed then scored a foul shot and went inside on a feed from Lee to tie the game with 24 seconds left to play. Barbour scored the game winner with 0.8 seconds left on the clock. Claudia Feeley picked up the assist after stealing the ball.
Scoring for Medomak were Fox 12 (8R, 2A, 5S, 3B), Barbour 6 (2S), Reed 6 (5R, 2S), Alyssa Smith 4, Sienna Lee 4 (4R, 5S, 5A), Rachel Richardson 3 (6S), and Molly Emerson 2.
Scoring for Lincoln were Coffin 11 (6R, 7S, 2A), Lilly Labrie 10 (5R, 3A), Ball 8 (5R, 4A, 3S), Anderson 4 (4R), and Lafrenaye 2 (7R, 2S).
Freeport 37 – Lincoln 34
By Mic LeBel, LCN
The Lincoln Academy girls basketball team lost 37-34 to Freeport on Friday, Jan. 23 in Newcastle. The Eagles led 16-7 after the first quarter, 24-21 at halftime, and 30-25 at the close of the third quarter before the Falcons staged a rally in the final minutes.
Foul shooting was a key factor in the fourth quarter. The Eagles made two out of six free throws while the Falcons buried six out of eight to seal the comeback victory.
Lilly Labrie was the top scorer for Lincoln Academy with 10 points. Also scoring for the Eagles were Rowan Coffin 8, Olivia Ball 7, Dory Westhaver and Anna Brackett 4 apiece, and Brea Lafrenaye 1.
Abby Giroux led the Falcons in scoring with 12 points.
Erskine 45 – Medomak 44
By Mic LeBel, LCN
The Medomak Valley girls basketball team lost a heartbreaker 45-44 to Erskine Academy on Friday, Jan. 23 in South China. The Panthers got off to a slow start as the Eagles jumped out to a 16-8 lead after the first quarter. Medomak narrowed the margin to six points at halftime, 24-18, and to three points after three quarters, 32 29, but the Eagles were able to hold them off down the stretch to escape with the win.
Chloe Fox led the Panthers with 18, followed by Sienna Lee 13, Rachel Barbour 5, Anna Reed 4, and Molly Emerson and Claudia Feeley 2 apiece.
Kienna Morse led the Eagles with 14 points, including nine in the first quarter to get Erskine off to a fast start and a pair of clutch free throws in the fourth to help seal the win.
