Greenland and Lincoln were tied with two minutes to go in their 3A-1 District Tournament semifinal game Friday, but every bounce or roll went to the Lady Pirates the rest of the way.
The Lady Wolves answered Greenland’s 10-0 run to end the third quarter with their own eight-point run to open the fourth.
But Greenland scored the final six points to narrowly escape with a 37-34 victory and advance to the district finals, where they’ll face Green Forest today.
“We made some mental mistakes, and it's one of those things we don't always have figured out as a youthful team,” Lincoln girls basketball coach Deon Birkes said. “You've got to give credit to Greenland. They turned it up at the end and our kids didn't respond.”
With the teams tied at 34 with 1 minute, 50 seconds remaining, Lincoln came out and turned the ball over, leading to a layup by Greenland’s Caitlyn Johnson.
Nicole Thordsen, who led Lincoln with a game-high 13 points, missed a five-foot jumper at the other end, and Ashley Hipps sank one of two free throws to give Greenland a three-point lead.
The Lady Wolves got one more chance, but RaShelle Goldman missed a desperation 3-pointer to tie the game.
The Lady Pirates scored 14 points over the final 10 minutes after scoring just 20 in the first 3 1/2 quarters. Morgan Miller hit a 3-pointer late in the third that sparked Greenland, and Mia Stone contributed four points in the run.
“We didn't have a good game. We didn't have any good shooting,” Greenland coach Alan Barton said. “That sophomore that came off the bench, Miller, took the lid off the bench and made a huge three when it counted.”
Hipps scored Greenland's first and last points to lead the team with seven points. She also tallied four rebounds and three assists, including the fast-break pass that put the Lady Pirates ahead for good.
“That last timeout I called, I said, 'Bottom line is you've got Lady Pirates across your chest. You know what you're used to doing, let's go do it,'” Barton said. “They did it.”
Lincoln kept up despite starting a freshman and two sophomores, including Thordsen.
“That's the great thing about these kids, they just keep on and keep on. They're winners,” Birkes said. “I know we've lost a few more games than we've won, but they're winners. Nobody better take us lightly, because we're coming to play every time.
“I love this group and would wear this jersey any day over any other.”
3A-1 WEST DISTRICT TOURNAMENT
Boys
WEST FORK 56, GREENLAND 47
Greenland 10 12 15 10 — 47
West Fork 19 18 7 12 — 56
Greenland: Smith 14, Rojas 13, Arnold 10, Sample 6, White 4.
West Fork: Seaman 16, Johnson 15, Cone 13, England 9, Ferrell 3.
CEDARVILLE 53, LINCOLN 50
Cedarville 14 16 13 10 — 53
Lincoln 16 13 11 10 — 50
Cedarville: Simkins 13, Fort 10, Bishop 9, McKenzie 9, Dillon 4, Wiley 4, Bradford 2, Brooks 2.
Lincoln: Leming 23, Hulse 8, Escareno 5, Swayne 5, Summers 4, Vaughn 3, Cruz 2.
Girls
GREEN FOREST 47, WEST FORK 40
Green Forest 14 12 12 9 — 47
West Fork 11 13 6 10 — 40
Green Forest: N. Mullen 22, Fields 8, Savage 6, Evans 4, T. Mullen 3, Kadee Powell 2, K. Powell 2.
West Fork: Jones 17, McCorkle 8, Sagely 8, Fraley 4, Franklin 3.
GREENLAND 37, LINCOLN 34
Lincoln 6 9 11 8 — 34
Greenland 8 7 16 6 — 37
Lincoln: Thordsen 13, Goldman 9, Summers 8, Faust 2, Hunton 2.
Greenland: Hipps 7, Johnson 6, Riggles 6, Scott 6, Miller 5, Stone 4, Brown 3.