L-S Downs Newton South in Coaches vs. Cancer Basketball Game

The Lincoln-Sudbury girls basketball, in teaming up with the American Cancer Society, hosted a Coaches vs. Cancer Awareness game Friday night against Newton South.  

Through head basketball coach Liza Feldman's work with the Coaches vs. Cancer program, the Warriors chose to dedicate the home game that benefitted the American Cancer Society. The players honored all of their loved ones who have been affected by cancer by wearing pink and purple.

Fans were encouraged to wear pink or purple to the game. The Lincoln-Sudbury players are in the process of building a Wall of Hope, which commemorates those whom died and all who are survivors of cancer. Wall of Hope cards were available at the game for a $1 donation and were added to the wall. All proceeds were donated to the Society in order to assist in their goal of creating a world with less cancer and more birthdays.

L-S raised more than $1,000 for the ACS. Feldman said she was proud of her team's involvement.

"The players were really excited to participate in the fundraiser," she said. "It helped raise our energy level at practice on Thursday after we decorated the gym, and it definitely carried over to the game on Friday. We had great support from the community, and we are really pleased with the way it all worked out."

The stands were filled with many alumni basketball families, as well as, Sudbury Youth Basketball players and families. SYB also worked the raffle booth to support the cause.

The Warriors cruised to a 44-30 win and qualified for a postseason playoff bid. 

L-S came out pumped in the first quarter. The Warriors never looked back and they continued to power a dominating lead. The L-S defense certainly got the job done, especially in the first half, holding Newton South to only seven points. 

"This was definitely one of our best defensive outings of the season," Feldman said. "We defended the screen and rolls effectively, just like we worked on in practice this week, and we boxed out very well."

Playing great defense, and holding Newton South to such few points in the first half, afforded the entire team to see court playing time. Junior Ashley Lutz had a game high double-double 13 points and 13 rebounds, with 3 steals and an assist. Senior Meghan Lutz also tallied 13 points, including 4 for 4 from the free-throw line, with 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals. Senior Meghan Sanford notched 6 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and a block. 

Other contributors included: sophomore Jody Henkel’s with 4 points and 2 rebounds; junior Daniela Hargus with 2 points; freshmen Emily Davis with 2 points and 1 rebound; and Emma Lutz with 2 points. Senior Shannon Connelly had a point, rebound, assist and 2 steals. Sophomore Abby Kawola had a point, an assist and was phenomenal at defense guarding Newton South standout Kayla Burton. Freshman Kristen Ngan led L-S with 4 assists and 2 steals. 

Off the bench, junior Alisha Weinstein was relentless on the boards with 7 rebounds and a block. Sophomore Aimee DeArias rounded out the team's contributions with 2 rebounds and an assist. Freshman Hannah Dee was just cleared from a recent injury to play, and contributed critical minutes in the game, too. 

With a guaranteed berth in the playoffs, L-S looks forward to upcoming games this week against Wellesley (home) on Thursday at 5:30 p.m., and Boston Latin (away) on Friday at 7 p.m.