The Lincoln High School girls basketball team had to settle for fourth place in the 22nd Lincoln Invitational tournament, after dropping a 48-31 decision to Rio Americano Saturday.
The Zebra’s fell behind early when the Raiders exploded on a 10-0 run. But some strong played by Cassandra Pisik, Karla McCommas and Taylor Galli helped the Fighting Zebras get back into the game.
Pisik scored six unanswered points and eight total in the quarter, while McCommas tallied three points and two rebounds. Lincoln was able to cut Rio Americano’s lead to 14-11.
In the second quarter, Galli was clutch with two crucial steals and a rebound, but Lincoln could only muster two-points.
“We were sluggish to start off from warm-ups,” said Galli, who finished with three rebounds, three steals and two assist. “We needed to get focused.”
The Zebras’ struggles continued as the club fell behind 26-17 at the end of the half.
In spite of coming out fired up after intermission, Lincoln was plagued by turnovers and scored only four points in quarter three. The Zebras entered the final frame down 38-21.
A mild rally in the fourth quarter proved too little too late.
“Ultimately we needed to execute our game plan and play more together as a unit,” said head coach Tim Sprinkles, “We wanted to push the ball and set-up the best shot for ourselves.”
River Valley beat Granite Bay 59-47 to win the championship.
Rio Linda defeated San Juan to win the consolation game and Wheatland topped Lindhurst for seventh place.
Game 2 – In the semifinal game, Lincoln went up against River Valley Friday, only to suffer poor free-throw shooting for a 46-39 loss.
The game changed hands several times, but the Zebras went into halftime ahead 27-26.
.“The first half went pretty well for us, we had our girls in the right places” said Sprinkles, “But transitions killed us tonight, if you would take away those easy buckets in the first half, the second half would’ve been different.”
The game remained close throughout the third quarter and half the fourth. Pisik and McCommas went strong to the boards to help improve the Zebras’ transition game.
But Lincoln went 0-for-12 from the free throw line as the game slipped away.
“I felt like we could’ve done better,” said McCommas, “to not to be timid, to run our offense and to make our free throws and layups.”
Game 1 – The Zebras opened the tournament Thursday night, beating San Juan 32-17 in a rather bizarre finish.
In the third quarter, someone in the crowd began yelling at the Spartans’ bench, prompting an official to ask the individual to calm down. When he didn’t, the official ejected him and asked him to leave the gym.
After Lincoln head coach Tim Sprinkles escorted the individual from the gym, the San Juan coach pulled his team off the floor and forfeited the game.
“It’s a good life lesson for the girls,” said Sprinkles, as to the situation, “that they are responsible for their actions and how they handle situations like that.”
As to the game, the Zebras opened the game on a 7-2 run. Pisik led the girls in blue to a 21-5 lead by the end of one quarter. San Juan battled back to cut the lead to 31-17 by halftime.
“We were getting away from our game plan there in the second; we got complacent,” said Sprinkles. “We try to put forth four solid quarters. Our goal was to put forth a strong second half.”
The final score of the game came on a Pisik free throw to give the Zebras a 32-17 lead just before the forfeit.
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