Kristina Lloyd
Lincoln County High School senior Keely Jackson handles the ball against Virgin Valley.
The Lincoln County High girls basketball team faced some tough competition at the Virgin Valley Tournament last weekend, Dec. 6-8.
Lincoln’s first opponent was 3A school Pahrump Valley. The Trojans came out and took Lincoln by surprise. They scored 17 points to Lincoln’s five in the first quarter.
Lincoln fought in the fourth quarter, but they ultimately ran out of time, losing 45-35. Senior Kendra Mathews was lead scorer with nine points. Junior Hailey Hooge scored eight.
Coach Duane Wadsworth said, “Pahrump is a top contender in the 3A and we gave them a tough game. We got a little outmuscled, and we’re just trying to correct mistakes on the fly. But the girls are starting to pick it up.”
Lincoln County put up another tough fight against Virgin Valley. Virgin Valley got a five-point lead in the first quarter that Lincoln could not shake.
Going into the third, the score was 18-12. Lincoln picked it up in the second half, playing fairly evenly against Virgin Valley, but they couldn’t make up for the points lost in the first quarter. Virgin Valley won, 36-28.
Hooge had 10 points. Mathews scored five.
The girls played their final game of the tourney on Dec. 8, against Moapa Valley and fell 58-26.
Wadsworth said, “Moapa is definitely bigger and stronger and faster, but we learned a lot. We learned about our toughness and how to take care of the ball.”
Mathews scored nine points. Junior Macie Howard scored six.
“Overall, I think we’re improving,” Wadsworth said. “We’re young, and we’re making mistakes, but we’re realizing those mistakes and building on them. I think we’re going to end up as a tough team this year.”
Lincoln played White Pine on Thursday, Dec. 13. They have a home game against Meadows on Dec. 15 at 1:30 p.m.
