Thursday, February 25, 2016

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

Zhane Williams scored 14 of her 18 points in the second half for Lincoln, which got back to the Hudson County final for the fifth straight year with a 47-37 win over Marist on Wednesday.

JERSEY CITY – Lincoln head coach Tommie Best has seen a couple of patterns in his team that have developed throughout this season. One is that his team has often gotten off to slow starts in big games. That has driven Best crazy, but the other is a much more calming pattern. While the offense has not always been there this year for the Lady Lions, their smothering defense has become their calling card.

Facing Marist in the Hudson County semifinals, Lincoln put on a defensive clinic that moved it one step closer to its No. 1 goal for the season and that is to bring the Hudson County crown back to Jersey City.

Lincoln held Marist without a field goal for 13 minutes spanning the first through third quarters and the second-seeded Lady Lions cruised into the program’s fifth straight Hudson County title game with a 47-37 win over third-seeded Marist on Wednesday night at the Yanitelli Center on the campus of St. Peter's University.

“I'm not happy with the way we've been starting games, but when you play solid defense that's always a great equalizer,” said Best. “Teams have been jumping on us early and we've been battling back. It's tough to rely on your defense game after game to hold it down until you find a groove. It's been working so far this season, but eventually that catches up as the games get tougher.”

Marist's Breyanna Frazier scored a game-high 19 points.

Breyanna Frazier scored the first six points for Marist with her free throw giving the Royal Knights their only lead, 6-5, midway through the first quarter. Lincoln's offense struggled to get going throughout the first half. The best way to get out of that funk was to have the Lions' defense create their offense.

That is exactly what happened as three straight steals turned into the baskets on the other end. Destiny Shuler scored on a spin move and then made a nice dish to freshman Daniya Darby inside as Lincoln righted itself and took a nine-point lead, 17-8, at the break.

Frazier finally broke the long drought without a field goal on a 3-pointer from the top of the key. Marist fought hard to get back in the game but the Lions never let it get too close; mainly because of senior guard Zhane Williams. After a rough first half, the senior captain got on track. She scored on a nice drive through traffic and hit a pair of 3s as the lead never dipped below eight until the final minute.

“Coach was on me, my dad was on me, I knew it was my time to step up,” said Williams. “I wasn't really playing like myself in the first half. When I hit the first shot to start the second half I felt like I was back. I felt confident that I could hit my shots and my teammates did a good job of getting me the ball and helping me get open.”

Daniya Darby and Lincoln will play Bayonne for the Hudson County title on Saturday at St. Peter's University.

Frazier scored on a drive and Denesia Mitchell banked in a 3 to cut Marist’s deficit to five, 40-35, with 55 seconds remaining. That was close as it got as junior forward Fato Sow twice nailed both ends of a one-and-one to help Lincoln hold off a comeback bid and head back to the HCT championship game.

Williams scored 14 of her team-high 18 points in the second half for Lincoln (18-4). Darby provided some muscle inside off the bench with nine points and nine rebounds. Shuler added six points, eight rebounds, and four assists. Frazier led all players with 19 points for Marist (17-8).

For the fifth consecutive year, Lincoln will play for the Hudson County title. This year the Lions will face rival Bayonne and they will go in with a different mindset. After winning three straight titles, they could only watch as Secaucus celebrated its first-ever county championship last season. It is a memory that has driven Williams and her teammates for the past year.

“It's a lot of hard work that we've put in to get back to the county final and I can't wait for Saturday,” said Williams. “My teammates have my back and I have theirs. Even when we aren't playing our best, we play tough defense. We want this game so bad. I'm a senior and this is my last shot, so I'm going to go all out.”

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