Austin Druse

In a top-five clash on Tuesday night, No. 2 Lincoln High (18-2, 17-1) defeated No. 5 Lincoln Southwest (16-5, 14-4), 55-42. It was a road game for the Links, but senior J’unti Franklin looked right at home with a game-high 18 points.

“The most important thing about our game is our mental,” Franklin said. “We just kept our heads on and came up with the win.”

Lincoln High would need that mental fortitude. Southwest started with an 8-0 run and appeared to have the blowout in hand mere minutes after the tip. That didn’t last, though, as the Links answered with an 18-point second quarter and led by three going into the break. Franklin scored 14 of her 18 points in the first half.

“All season long we talked about getting stops and applying our pressure. I thought toward the end of the first quarter and in the second half, we did a better job of getting stops,” Lincoln High head coach Dominique Kelley-Johnson said.

And stops they would get, as the Links controlled the second half with constant defensive pressure. Lincoln High outscored Southwest 17-8 and 9-8 in the third and fourth quarters, respectively. Poor shooting and late turnovers cost Southwest a chance at a late-season upset.

“I thought Lincoln High was the aggressor in the game. We played on our heels too much and did not match their physicality,” Southwest coach Tim Barada said. “All the credit goes to Lincoln High as they were as solid as advertised and shot it much better than we did.”

Barada also noted that his squad has the chance to play “a lot more basketball” this year, but “there are certain areas that we obviously need to get better.”

Southwest would get a pair of decent showings from Kennadi Williams (13 points) and Freddie Wallace (12 points). The second-leading scorer for Lincoln High was Briauna Robinson with 13.

Lincoln High will conclude the regular season at Gretna (12-9, 8-7). For the Silver Hawks, they’ll travel to Papillion-LaVista (7-13, 5-11) to close their schedule before postseason play.