SHINNSTON, W.Va. — Lincoln hardly had an answer for Braxton County’s 6-foot-3 senior Jocelyn Abraham during Thursday’s matchup.
Fortunately for the Cougars, they limited the Eagles’ supporting cast to 14 points, allowing Lincoln to lead for the final 28 minutes en route to a 53-42 victory.
“It was a hard-fought game both ways and a grind it out game,” Lincoln head coach Rob Hawkins said. “We were lucky to get a lead and keep it the whole game. They cut it down late. Abraham obviously gave us fits, but we did a great job on the rest of them.”
After Braxton County (14-5) built an early 5-0 lead, the Cougars reeled off the next 10 points with four of five starters scoring during a surge that put Lincoln (12-5) ahead for good.
Abraham’s layup cut the Eagles’ deficit to three after one quarter, but Lincoln got two baskets from Victoria Sturm, along with a Brynne Williams layup for a 16-7 lead early in the second.
However, Abraham scored seven points over the remainder of the half to help Braxton close to within 21-16 at the break. After starting somehwhat slow, Abraham had 11 points and nine rebounds at the half.
“She’s a very determined girl,” Eagles’ head coach Keith Greene said. “This is a game that she looks forward to with the competition.”
Sturm and the Eagles’ Peyton Smith traded three-pointers early in the third that left Lincoln with a 26-22 lead. Over the remainder of the third, the Cougars went on a 12-3 surge to go into the fourth leading by 13. Williams had half of her team’s 12 points during the key run, while Allison Rockwell accounted for a pair of field goals.
Braxton, meanwhile, got six of its nine third-quarter points from Abraham on a pair of conventional three-point plays.
Abraham scored her team’s first six points of the fourth to cut Lincoln’s lead to 40-31, and Maggie Skidmore followed with a triple to make it a six-point game with 5:20 remaining.
Braxton pulled even closer at 41-36 following Abraham’s leaner, but Sturm converted a layup out of a timeout with 3:05 left to up the Lincoln lead to seven.
“We were getting frustrated a little bit, because their defense had picked up,” Hawkins said. “The girls thought they were getting bumped a little bit, so I just wanted to calm them down and relax. We drew up something and luckily we got a layup, which gave us a little momentum. It was critical to us because it made it a three possession game.”
The Eagles made only one more field goal — a Lainey Hunt three that cut their deficit to 51-42 in the game’s final seconds.
Sturm’s 23 points led three Lincoln players in double figures. Williams narrowly missed a double-double with 13 points and nine boards, while Rockwell scored 11.
Abraham led all players with 28 points and 14 rebounds, but the rest of the Eagles combined to make only 5-of-21 shots.
Braxton County also had 19 turnovers to the Cougars’ 13.
“Lincoln’s a great team. Probably the best team we’ve played this year,” Greene said. “They’re very physical and we’re not used to that kind of physicality. The girls never backed down. I just wish we had brought a little more energy tonight.”