Basketball Preview: North Lincoln Knights vs. St. Stephens Indians
North Lincoln is 0-6 against the Indians since January of 2022 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Tuesday. The North Lincoln Knights will be staying on the road to face off against the St. Stephens Indians at 6:00 p.m. on February 6th. Hopefully North Lincoln focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 20 on Friday.
Last Friday, North Lincoln was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap as they fell 54-50 to the Raiders.
Despite their loss, North Lincoln saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Hailey Hagler, who scored 15 points along with three steals, was perhaps the best of all. Ally Smith was another key contributor, scoring 13 points along with seven rebounds and three steals.
Meanwhile, St. Stephens was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap on Tuesday as they fell 49-44 to the Raiders. While losing is never fun, St. Stephens can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 210th, while the Raiders are ranked 96th).
St. Stephens might have lost, but man, Kennedy Blevins was a machine: she dropped a double-double on 16 points and ten rebounds. Blevins hasn't dropped below two steals for five straight games. The team also got some help courtesy of Molli Harris, who scored 13 points along with five rebounds.
North Lincoln's record now sits at 13-7. St. Stephens' record now sits at 11-8.
North Lincoln came up short against the Indians when the teams last played back in January, falling 63-55. Can North Lincoln avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
