A two foot buzzer beater spoiled a furious Logger comeback in a 58-56 loss to D1 Sauk Valley. Lincoln Land fell behind early in the first quarter and could never overcome the deficit.
Lincoln Land found themselves down 35-25 at the half. The Loggers cut the Sauk Valley lead down to 8 points by the end of the third quarter behind 7-8 free throw shooting. Lincoln Land would not go away in the fourth quarter.
The Logger run was sparked by two 3 point baskets by Durbin Thomas and one by Megan Harrell. With some defensive stops, the Loggers evened the score at the 1:30 mark by one of Thomas’ 3 point baskets. Sauk Valley countered with a two point basket to take back the lead. On the next Logger possession, Whitney Rumbold’s 15 footer was rebounded and put back by Megan Harrell to tie the game at 56 with 13.2 seconds remaining.
Sauk Valley proceeded to call timeout to advance the ball. On the ensuing play, Lincoln Land defended tough on the perimeter but Sauk Valley’s 18 footer was partially blocked. Unfortunately, the ball fell right into the hands of Sauk’s 6’3″ post on the block and she scored the winner at the buzzer.
Lincoln Land’s Marley Smith left the game early in the third period after suffering a split chin. She would finish with 11 points.
Avrie Schmidt finished with a game high 18 points while Meg Harrell finished with 12. Rounding out the Logger scoring was Durbin Thomas 9, Sam Lindhorst 4 and Whitney Rumbold 2.
Lincoln Land is off until January 6th when they travel to face Prairie State. Lincoln Land record now stands at 11-2.
