Lincoln Junior High teams tangle with Seeley Eagles

It's time for Junior High basketball now that the varsity games are over, and the Lincoln fans have a preview of great things to come from the eleven Little Lynx ladies who make up the "A" and "B" squads, the future Lady Lynx varsity team.

In the Monday night away game against Seeley Lake Junior High Eagles, the Little Lynx gals hustled up and down the court and showed that they are leaning the basics of competitive basketball.

Coach Shane Smith patiently guided his young teams through the lopsided games, encouraging them to do their best and giving helpful hints from the bench.

All the Lincoln ladies - one or two years younger than their Seeley opponents - kept their chins up and played with energy and enthusiasm.

The Seeley Lake Eagles were the victors in both games, but there was a glimmer of future greatness in Remi Dietz and Kaitlyn Brown, who were the high scorers in the "B" game.

Hailey Smith and Kaya Butterfield scored for the "A" team (supposedly 7th and 8th graders) even though they are only in 6th grade.

'Almost five-feet' tall Claire Gilbert held her own in the "B" game, dribbling around the bigger Eagle defenders. Pint sized

Maddi Davis racked up several aggressive steals in the "A" contest, showing the fans that dynamite does indeed come in small packages.

Makena Copenhaver and Jordyn Zarske played with their usual intensity, but this night their shots would not fall.

One reason the Junior High Lynx ladies are so much younger than their opponents is that the Lynx varsity ladies needed to "borrow" two eighth-grade players for the varsity team, in order to have enough players to field a high school team. So, Coach Smith recruited five 6th grade girls to play on his Jr Hi squad. In the end, the extra years of experience for the 6th graders will reap rewards down the road when they grow up to be at the top of the pecking order: older, wiser and tougher.