Basketball Game Preview: Lincoln Lions vs. Olentangy Liberty Patriots

The Lincoln Lions will face off against the Olentangy Liberty Patriots at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Lincoln knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with 55 points or more in their past six matches -- so hopefully Olentangy Liberty likes a good challenge.

Lincoln can't be too worried about heading out to take on Olentangy Liberty: they just beat Africentric Early College at home, who had been dominant on their own court up to that point. Lincoln came out on top against Africentric Early College by a score of 58-47 on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Olentangy Liberty waltzed into their game on Friday with two straight wins... but they left with three. They snuck past the Golden Bears with a 32-28 win. The victory was all the more spectacular given the Patriots' disadvantage in MaxPreps' Ohio basketball rankings (they are ranked 49th, while the Golden Bears are ranked tenth).

Lincoln better keep an eye on Claire Mikola. She was instrumental in Olentangy Liberty's win, going 6 of 13 on her way to 15 points along with five boards and four steals. Mikola has been hot for a while, having posted two or more steals the last ten times she's played. Another player making a difference was Emily Stackhouse, who posted seven points.

Lincoln is on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six contests, which provided a nice bump to their 13-6 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 63.7 points per game. As for Olentangy Liberty, they pushed their record up to 13-5 with the win, which was their fourth straight at home.

Lincoln came up short against Olentangy Liberty in their previous matchup back in February of 2024, falling 61-49. Can Lincoln avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.