World of changes for Lincoln girls in last 11 months

LINCOLN — Eleven months after ending its 2022-2023 season, there’s been a world of changes for the Lincoln girls basketball program, beginning with first-year head coach Brendan Wiley.

Sarah Snodgrass and Lena Skogen combined for 36 points as Lincoln (12-9, 3-2 3A-1) knocked off Flippin, 61-36, on Thursday, Jan. 11. Both girls scored 18 points with sophomores Layni Birkes (11) and Hannah Remington (11) joining them in double figures.

Thursday’s win builds confidence for Lincoln against the Lady Bobcats (9-9, 1-3), the team which beat Lincoln out of the 3A-1 District Tournament last season.

That was a memorable game, which marked the last game for former head girls basketball coach Emilianne Cox, working deep against the biological shot clock into the third trimester of a pregnancy with two weeks left before her due date in the second round of the 2023 District 3A-1 girls basketball tournament at West Fork on Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2023. Lincoln lost 56-50 to end its basketball season, one win short of qualifying for regional play.

This time around the new look Lady Wolves, featuring both sophomores in the starting lineup, jumped out to a 17-11 first quarter lead with Snodgrass scoring 8 first quarter points on 6 of 7 free throw shooting. Birkes enjoyed a productive opening quarter, nailing a 3-pointer and scoring 7 points in the period.

Lincoln broke the game open by outscoring the Lady Bobcats 33-14 over the middle two quarters. The Lady Wolves got 6 points apiece from Snodgrass and Skogen in the second quarter and held a 31-17 halftime advantage. Skogen added 8 more points in third. Remington connected on a 3-pointer and added 5 points as Lincoln rolled to a 50-25 lead at the end of the third quarter.

Remington and Skogen earned 6 free throws combined in the fourth quarter and scored 4 points each. Zella Pomeroy added an old-fashioned 3-point play.

Ally Hodges scored 15 points for Flippin.