Jan 23, 2024 By Jonathan Guth 3 min read

It certainly lived up to the hype.

Trinity and Lincoln Park entered Tuesday’s Class 5A Section 4 girls basketball contest at Trinity undefeated in league play and the Hillers had a 14-point halftime lead before the Leopards rallied for a 61-60 victory in overtime after Sarah Scott scored on a putback at the buzzer.

Trinity (4-1, 11-4) took a one-point lead with 13.9 seconds remaining when Agatha Niccolai made one of two free throws before Lincoln Park’s J’La Kizart was fouled with 5.8 seconds left.

Kizart missed both free throws, but Scott corralled the rebound before putting in the game winner.

“We have the mentality that it’s possession by possession, and that’s what we did in the second half,” Lincoln Park coach Ryan Kacsur said. “These girls never quit, and their mentality is to never give up. We find ways to do it.”

The Leopards (5-0, 16-0) had an early five-point lead as Maddie Syka scored five of her game-high 39 points.

“I just think she (Syka) took over in the second half,” Trinity coach Kathy McConnell-Miller said. “I thought she was very effective offensively. They found her and she made tough plays. I thought the way they stepped up their pressure on the defensive end was probably the most significant part of the second half.”

The Hillers recovered from a slow start with a 15-2 run as Ruby Morgan connected on two of her six 3-pointers. Niccolai and Riley Corrins also connected from beyond the arc and Trinity had an 18-11 lead after the first quarter. Niccolai put in 15 points.

Morgan continued her hot shooting in the second period, as she made four more three-pointers and converted on a four-point play for 19 points at the half.

“Ruby was phenomenal in the first half, but they really keyed in on her in the second half,” McConnell-Miller said. “They put their best defensive player on her, who is probably the best defensive player in our section, so that obviously deterred her from scoring, but I don’t think she stopped her from doing the little things to help us.”

The Hillers outscored the visitors 19-12 in the second period for a 37-23 halftime advantage.

Lincoln Park cut the deficit to 39-33 with 4:53 left in the third quarter after a 10-2 run. The Leopards had a 17-7 edge in the period.

Lincoln Park outscored Trinity by four in the fourth quarter to force overtime, and had a 51-49 lead with 58.7 seconds left before Hiller freshman Sutton Williamson converted on a layup with five seconds remaining and the Leopards weren’t able to get off a last-second shot.

Scott was the other Leopard in double figures with 13 points.