By T. Scott Boatright
Lincoln Preparatory School girls basketball coach Fred Hearn said earlier this week he liked the match-up of his 20th-seeded Lady Panthers as they traveled south to face 13th-seeded Catholic-Pointe Coupee in the opening round of the Division IV Select School girls playoffs.
The Lady Panthers lived up to their coach’s confidence Thursday evening as the Lady Panthers broke things open in the third quarter, outscoring Catholic-P.C. 19-6 in that stanza to pull away en route to a 60-32 win over the Lady Hornets.
Lincoln Prep led 28-19 at halftime before the Lady Panthers made their move to take control.
“I kept telling our girls to focus and keep fighting,” Hearn said. “We couldn’t get up by more than 13 or 14, but we weren’t rebounding. Finally we started rebounding and that helped start things up.”
The Lady Panthers’ pressure defense did the rest.
“We kept up the pressure defense and got in their face and started really guarding, and in the third quarter it finally started doing damage,” Hearn said. “We started forcing turnovers and making transition baskets and that was pretty much the ballgame right there — the effort this team put in during the third quarter to take over.
“Then it was just a matter of holding on in the fourth quarter and heading home with the win.”
Hearn wasn’t apologetic about his confidence going in despite his team being the significantly lower seed.
“Everybody kept asking me how I felt, because our team this season has been much better than the ones we had the two previous years,” Hearn said. “I just felt that if we were focused and put our minds to it, we can play with anybody.
“So it’s good to see us pick up the win. But there’s no time to celebrate. Not yet. Not as long as we’re still alive in the playoffs.”
Senior Asijah Wright double-doubled for the Lady Panthers, totaling 25 points and 12 rebounds while senior center Shedreana Green added 17 for Lincoln Prep, which now stands at 10-19 on the season.
Next up for the Lady Panthers will be a second-round contest at fourth-seeded Sacred Heart (24-5) at 6:30 p.m. Monday.
Sacred Heart had a first-round bye in the Division IV Select School bracket.
“They blew us out last year in the first round,” Hearn said about Sacred Heart. “So we’re looking forward to getting to face them with this team we have this year.
“Now we just have to get home and get back to work getting ready for that game. I’m proud of this team and what we’ve already accomplished this season. But there’s still more ahead. We have to keep our focus on the next game and nothing else.”
