Lincoln Lions End Wildcats' Tournament Run
The Lady Wildcats ended their season with a heart-breaking 59-50 loss to the Lincoln Lions yesterday in the semi-final round of the Class C New England Prep School Basketball Tournament in Greenfield, MA. KUA built an 11-point lead in the first half behind the hot hands of Gabby Diaz (12 of her 14 points) and Fiekah Fataar (7 of her 13 points). Too many fouls, however, put Lincoln at the line and sent several Wildcats to the bench. Lincoln went 9-for-16 from the charity stripe in the first half alone while KUA was only 1-for-2. Although the KUA defense limited Lincoln’s top scorer to just 5 points, the Lions were able to cut the deficit and bring the score to 28-23 at the break in favor of KUA.
The second stanza saw Lincoln at the foul line once again. The Lions shot an unprecedented 41 foul shots on the game while KUA had 25 attempts – each team missing 15 free throws. Foul trouble mounted for the black and orange as point guard Gabby Diaz and post players Emily Kelly and Autumn Kariuki were all sitting with 4 fouls apiece early in the 2nd half. Lincoln smartly put on a full court press and KUA crumbled under the pressure. The score quickly swung the other way and suddenly Lincoln had a 12 point lead. Forced to put Diaz back in the game to help right the ship, the unthinkable happened...she picked up her fifth and final foul with 7 and a half minutes left to play. Junior Katey Spanos did a nice job taking over the reins and hit a big three to cut the Lincoln lead to 8 with 5 minutes to play. Abbey Hybl then hit a bank shot and suddenly the Wildcats were only down by 6. The Cats battled hard and got to the line but unfortunately they could not convert going 9-for-23 in the second half.
It just was not KUA’s day. Perhaps the team wanted to win too much and the pressure got to them causing the KUA players to make uncharacteristic mistakes – this was the first time that the team has made it to the semi-final round since 2007. However, KUA will take away a lot from this loss. It will no doubt leave a sour taste in the mouths of the players and coaches but we will use it as motivation for next season.
The second stanza saw Lincoln at the foul line once again. The Lions shot an unprecedented 41 foul shots on the game while KUA had 25 attempts – each team missing 15 free throws. Foul trouble mounted for the black and orange as point guard Gabby Diaz and post players Emily Kelly and Autumn Kariuki were all sitting with 4 fouls apiece early in the 2nd half. Lincoln smartly put on a full court press and KUA crumbled under the pressure. The score quickly swung the other way and suddenly Lincoln had a 12 point lead. Forced to put Diaz back in the game to help right the ship, the unthinkable happened...she picked up her fifth and final foul with 7 and a half minutes left to play. Junior Katey Spanos did a nice job taking over the reins and hit a big three to cut the Lincoln lead to 8 with 5 minutes to play. Abbey Hybl then hit a bank shot and suddenly the Wildcats were only down by 6. The Cats battled hard and got to the line but unfortunately they could not convert going 9-for-23 in the second half.
It just was not KUA’s day. Perhaps the team wanted to win too much and the pressure got to them causing the KUA players to make uncharacteristic mistakes – this was the first time that the team has made it to the semi-final round since 2007. However, KUA will take away a lot from this loss. It will no doubt leave a sour taste in the mouths of the players and coaches but we will use it as motivation for next season.
The Lady Wildcats have indeed accomplished great things this winter. The team went undefeated at home; were named Berwick Holiday Hoops Tournament Champions; Lakes Region League Co-Champions, and earned the #2 seed in the NEPSAC tournament – their 14th consecutive trip to the post-season. Included in their 17 wins are big victories over Class B finalists Cushing Academy and Class C finalists Tilton as well as avenging a 1-point loss to NMH on the road with a 20-point victory over the Hoggers in Meriden. In the span of six days in February, Kimball Union knocked off Deerfield, Brewster, St. Paul’s and Groton School.
The future looks bright as the team will graduate just one senior. Bianca Brenz, of Lawrence, MA, will matriculate at Trinity College in the fall and play basketball for the Bantams. Congratulations and best wishes Bianca. We will miss you!
The future looks bright as the team will graduate just one senior. Bianca Brenz, of Lawrence, MA, will matriculate at Trinity College in the fall and play basketball for the Bantams. Congratulations and best wishes Bianca. We will miss you!
