Cowgirls Go Toe-To-Toe On Basketball Court

LINCOLN -- Two members of the Lincoln Riding Club went toe-to-toe battling to get to a spot on the floor first during a Colors Day girls basketball matchup Friday.

Lincoln sophomore and current Riding Club Rodeo queen Landree Cunningham guarded Greenland sophomore Heidi Rust as Lincoln broke away from a 17-15 halftime lead outscoring Greenland 19-8 in the second half to take a 36-23 3A-1 Conference win.

Rust drove to the basket and had an opportunity to tie the game when she was fouled on the Lady Pirates' first possession of the third quarter but neither free throw would go down. Lincoln scored the next four points with center Robin Kirk catching a lob in the paint then following that up by taking a steal in for a driving layup.

After fouls on both cowgirls, first Rust and then Cunningham, Greenland senior Campbell Hill powered up a shot on the low block keeping the margin at four points, 21-17, with 5:07 remaining in the third quarter.

Both teams suffered a scoring drought for the next three minutes. Rust beat Cunningham off the dribble only to have her shot challenged by Kirk. When it clanged off the rim Cunningham was there for the rebound.

Cunningham broke the ice for Lincoln stealing the ball and sailing in for a layup at the 2:14 mark of the third. The sheer hustle of the Lincoln cowgirl caused a Greenland turnover when she jumped into the passing lane and the Lady Pirates lost the ball out-of-bounds.

With seven tenths of a second showing Cunningham drew a foul taking another steal to the hoop. She made 1-of-2 free throws giving Lincoln a 24-17 lead at the end of the third period.

Lincoln coach Emilianne Slamons kept her girls playing a tight man-to-man wearing down Greenland which plays with only eight girls out for basketball this season.

Veteran Greenland coach Alan Barton, who returned from surgery prior to the Christmas break says not to worry.

"Over the years we've been blessed to have a lot of girls come out for basketball at Greenland. This year we only have eight. That's just the way it is, but we'll be OK," he said.

Lincoln in-bounded underneath its own basket and Tania Ortiz drove across the lane to score. Hill made a foul shot at the 5:42 mark of the fourth ending a 6:23 scoreless time frame for the Lady Pirates. Five points in the last 4:28 wasn't enough for Greenland. A couple of long shots by Arianna Ortiz including one 3-pointer and two buckets by Kirk down the stretch more than offset Greenland's production in the latter stages of the fourth quarter as Lincoln coasted to a 36-23 win.