WEST FORK -- Jessica Goldman's putback with three seconds counting down, the eighth of Lincoln's fast-break points in the fourth quarter, lifted the Lady Wolves to a 34-32 road victory Friday.
By the time West Fork (10-14, 5-8) got the clock stopped with an urgent time-out only 1.5 seconds remained. The horn sounded before West Fork got off a shot and Lincoln (15-12, 10-8) celebrated a momentum-building win before they host the District 4A-1 basketball tournament this week. The Lady Wolves are the No. 5 seed and take on No. 4 Prairie Grove Wednesday at 7 p.m.
Action went back and forth in the last minute. Nursing a one-point lead, West Fork's Kendall Hays made the front end of a 1-and-1, but missed the second. Trailing 32-30, Lincoln worked the half-court offense with Goldman on the wing throwing a perfectly aimed lob to Tanner Robb underneath. The sophomore scored her sixth point of the fourth quarter on a layup to tie the game, at 32-32, with 35.6 seconds to play. West Fork advanced the ball into the front-court where Coach Rodney Selph took time-out with 27.8 seconds left.
First-year Lincoln coach Emilianne Slamons switched defenses while the clock was stopped. Once West Fork in-bounded Lincoln was no longer playing man-to-man. The Lady Wolves were set up in a 1-2-2 zone. Robb came away with a crucial steal in the right corner and pushed the ball down-court quickly. She spotted Robin Kirk running the lane and fed her the ball. Kirk's shot wouldn't go down, but Goldman crashed the offensive glass and laid the ball in the goal for the winning field goal.
Brooke Tedford made a trio of 3-pointers and led West Fork with 11 points. Goldman had 11 points for Lincoln. She was 5-of-6 at the free throw line. Robb was effective harrassing West Fork ball-handlers with sticky man-to-man defense in the second half. She finished with 8 points.
Lincoln 34, West Fork 32
Lincoln^5^7^10^12^--^34
West Fork^7^11^7^7^--^32
Lincoln (15-12, 10-8): Jessica Goldman 3 5-6 11, Tanner Robb 3 2-2 8, Robin Kirk 3 0-0 6, Tania Ortiz 2 0-0 4, Tristan Cunningham 0 3-4 3, Madison Jones 1 0-0 2. Totals 12 10-12 34.
West Fork (10-14, 5-8): Brooke Tedford 4 0-0 11, Elyssa Hauser 3 0-0 6, Emmey Jarnagan 0 4-4 4, Kendall Hays 1 2-4 4, Erin Crume 1 0-0 3. Totals 10 8-12 32.
3-Point Goals -- Lincoln none. West Fork 4 (Tedford 3, Crume).
Sports on 02/14/2018