Incline girls roll in semifinal, play for state hoops title Saturday
INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. — The Incline Highlanders girls’ basketball team will play for the state 2A basketball championship on Saturday in Reno.
Eiley Tippins scored 18 points and grabbed 18 rebounds and Elisabeth Stranzl scored 14 and dished nine assists to power the Highlanders over Calvary Chapel Christian 54-36 Friday at Lawlor Events Center at the University of Nevada, Reno.
Incline (23-0), the top seed from the north, will face Lincoln County (22-3), the top seed from the south, at 11:40 a.m.
Incline and Calvary Chapel battled neck and neck through most of the first half.
After Calvary star Olivia Bell drained a short jumper in the key to give the Lions a 22-21 with about 3 minutes left in the first half, Incline Head Coach Indra Winquest called timeout.
The Highlanders responded with a 7-0 run to end the first half to lead 28-22. Incline’s Molly Ellis grabbed an offensive rebound and made the putback to put the Highlanders ahead 23-22 and they would never trail again.
Incline opened a double-digit lead, 40-29, going into the fourth quarter and slowly pulled away as their size wore down the Lions.
Brooke Gutheil got Incline rolling in the first quarter by hitting three 3-pointers and scoring all of her 11 points to help the Highlanders grab a 19-14 lead after the first 8 minutes.
Tippins added four blocks and three assists, Ellis scored four points and hauled in 11 rebounds and Mattison Lampe scored seven points and played solid defense on Bell and keeping her to her season average of 20.
All state tournament games can be streamed live on the NFHS Network at https://www.nfhsnetwork.com.
For those attending the tournament, tickets are $12 for adults, $5 for students (high school age and younger) and free for those 8 and under and are good for all games at a site on the given day. Tickets are available through HomeTown Ticketing or by visiting niaa.com/tickets.
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