GREENLAND -- After opening the season with a rare loss, the Greenland girls got back on the winning track by rocking Lincoln, 60-24, in their basketball home opener on Tuesday.
The defending Class 3A state champs lost a close game at Class 4A Prairie Grove on Monday and coach Alan Barton said his team bounced back and played much better.
Girls
Greenland 60, Lincoln 24
Lincol^8^10^2^4^—^24
Greenland^10^25^14^11^—^60
Lincoln (1-2): Rothcock 10, Howard 8, McConnell 4, Cunningham 2.
Greenland (1-1): Crown 26, Redmond 12, Arnold 6, Wright 6, Osburn 3, Bone 3, Renfrow 2, Clark 2.
Boys
Lincoln^9^13^11^24^—^57
Greenland^11^18^14^21^—^64
Lincoln (1-1): Blankenship 21, Casteneda 10, Barnum 9, Sugg 8, Means 6, Pomery 2, Lee 1.
Greenland (2-0): Lyons 19, Z.Wolf 13, Self 9, Clem 9, Gaines 6, Miller 5, White 2, D.Wolf 1.
"We didn't shoot it very well and we made turnovers against a good team the other night and we got beat," Barton said. "Tonight we came back and did the things we are supposed to do, the things we practice on, and it went a lot better for us."
Senior post Kim Crown proved too much to handle for Lincoln, pouring in 26 points and dominating on the offensive and defensive boards.
McKayla Redmond added 12 points for the Pirates (1-1).
"There is no secret our offense runs through Kim," Barton said. "We made sure Kim got to touch the ball a lot and when our shooters shot we made sure she was in good position to get the rebounds."
After a 10-8 lead at the end of the first quarter, Greenland started clicking with a 25-10 second quarter to post a 35-18 lead at the halftime break.
Greenland suffocated any hopes of a Lincoln run in the second half, holding the Wolves (1-2) to two points in the third quarter and six for the whole second half.
"Our defense was much better in the second half," Barton said. "That's something we needed to improve after the other night."
Greenland will play in several prestigious tournaments over the next few weeks, including at Green County Tech and the Tournament of Champions in Fort Smith.
"We feel like to be the best you have to play the best," Barton said. "We want our nonconference schedule to be as tough as it can be."
Shanie Rothcock had 10 points for Lincoln (1-2) and Maddie Howard eight off the bench.
Boys
GREENLAND 64, LINCOLN 57
Spencer Lyons scored 19 points and Zac Wolf had 13 for the Pirates (2-0).
Garrett Blankenship led Lincoln (1-1) with 21 points.
Greenland led 29-22 at the half and opened up a 43-33 lead after three quarters.
Lincoln cut into the lead with a few 3-pointers late as Greenland missed some free throws and Lincoln cut the lead to 58-55.
Then Greenland pulled off a full-court pass to Zac Wolf for a layup and Lyons made two free throws to help ice the game.
Sports on 11/25/2015