Lincoln remains undefeated in 3A PCL play with win over Bonney Lake
Lincoln High School girls basketball is well on the way to securing a third consecutive undefeated Class 3A Pierce County League title.
The Abes finished a perfect 9-0 in league contests during the shortened spring season in 2021.
They were 12-0 against their 3A PCL opponents last season.
This winter, they are a perfect 8-0 in league play, and picked up an impressive win over 3A PCL rival Bonney Lake, currently second in the league standings, on the road Saturday afternoon.
DeAndrea Woods-Singleton pulled down a rebound under the basket on the game’s first possession, and her putback layup gave the Abes a lead they never lost 10 seconds into the contest.
Lincoln was quick to build a double-digit lead, and pushed it as high as 23 points in the second half on the way to a 59-38 rout of the Panthers in Bonney Lake.
“I felt like they got after it today,” Abes coach Jamila Jones said. “We’ve been challenging a bunch of them to play a certain type of way, and I think we got that done.”
Lincoln opened the game on a 10-2 run, kept Bonney Lake off the board until Jazmyn Shipp connected on a short jumper with 3:30 to play in the first quarter, and held a comfortable lead throughout the contest.
The Panthers rallied as close as nine points twice in the second quarter, but a 3-pointer from Malani Warren, followed by a Warren steal and pass to Jaleigha Robinson for a breakaway layup in the final 35 seconds of the first half pushed the advantage to 28-14 at the break.
“Yesterday we had a really good practice, so we came in knowing what we wanted to do, and I feel like we executed really well from the jump,” Lincoln guard Ciona Wells said.
The Abes’ lead remained in double digits throughout the second half, and their defense consistently kept Bonney Lake off-balance.
Lincoln caused 23 turnovers — including 11 in the first half and 12 in the second — to keep the Panthers out of reach.
“Today, everybody was flying around,” Jones said of the defensive effort.
Wells led Lincoln with a game-high 18 points — including four 3-pointers — while Robinson had 11 points and Woods-Singleton nine points and five rebounds. Abes freshman forward Oliviyah Edwards added six points, six rebounds and seven blocks.
Shipp, the reigning 3A PCL MVP, led Bonney Lake with 14 points and five rebounds. Panthers guard Ava Bailey added nine points.
Saturday’s win completes a regular season sweep of Bonney Lake for the Abes, who also secured a 67-55 victory over the Panthers last month in Tacoma.
Lincoln has second league meetings with Stadium, Silas, Lakes and Spanaway Lake still ahead, and routed each of those opponents by 20-plus points earlier this winter. The Abes have an average margin of victory of 32.9 points against 3A PCL teams through eight contests.
Lincoln has not lost a league game since the 2019-20 regular season, when Bethel secured the 3A PCL title before returning to 4A the following season.
The program’s undefeated streak in league play is currently at 34 games.
This story was originally published January 14, 2023 at 6:37 PM.
