Playoff basketball: Lincoln Park Academy girls dispatch Boynton Beach to reach region final
FORT PIERCE — Lincoln Park Academy girls basketball marched past Boynton Beach and into the Class 5A FHSAA regional finals on Monday after a 66-41 win.
The victory marks the Lady Greyhounds’ seventh regional finals appearance in Lincoln Park coach Wendell Adams’ 25-year, 500-plus win tenure.
The No. 2 seed Greyhounds swarmed the No. 3 seed Lady Tigers from tipoff with several full-court press sets while finding their offensive groove. The first quarter showed all the makings of a back-and-forth contest until Lincoln Park broke out on a 12-4 run in the last two minutes, ending the frame up 19-11.
“I had gotten a scouting report that they press, and I said, ‘Tonight’s game, I want to start out pressing,’” Adams said. “We usually wait until about the second quarter before we get into our pressure defense, but I told the girls that we were going to start pressing right out of the gate.”
First round: Lincoln Park Academy girls handle Suncoast
Lincoln Park sophomore Olivia Titherington went to work in the first quarter, scoring 8 of her 14 total points as she tallied four steals.
“[Titherington] has just been consistent all year. She understands our defensive philosophy,” Adams said. “She struggled a little bit on the offensive end, but she never stops playing. When things are not going right, she continues to play. She had a tendency tonight to get other people involved, so that helped.”
While the Greyhounds outscored the Tigers in each quarter, they built the bulk of their lead in the first and fourth periods. After a relatively quiet second quarter from both squads, Lincoln Park held a 32-20 lead at halftime.
Returning from the break, Lincoln Park junior Juliana Ball caught fire and sank three of her six 3-pointers in the third quarter. Ball scored 18 points in the game and shared the honors of game-high scorer with sophomore teammate Alexa Titherington, who provided consistent scoring with four triples, one for each quarter.
“[Ball] has been with us since ninth grade. She’s been a three-year starter for us,” Adams said. “The last six or seven games, she’s been really hitting her shots. She struggled early on, but as of late, she’s been knocking down her open shots … Some of our offense is definitely designed to run through her.”
With eight consecutive wins in their pockets and a 28-2 record, the Greyhounds will return to the regional finals stage for the first time since 2021. That year, the team finished as state championship runner-up to Lake Highland Prep.
Instead of chasing to get back to the ultimate prize, Adams said Lincoln Park is moving along day by day.
“This was our vision. Like I say, everybody can see, but a few people have vision,” Adams said. “One of my visions was to possibly win a district championship this year and get to the regional finals. We just want to continue to do what we do. We’re not going to change anything; we’re not going to try to adjust to what they do — that’s what has gotten us to this point.
“We’re focusing one game at a time,” he continued. “I told my girls that all year. I’ve been on the other end before where we’ve looked ahead and we got upset. Once you get in the regions, anybody can win on any given night and that’s been our approach.”
Lincoln Park will travel to face No. 1 seed American Heritage (Plantation) on Thursday at 7 p.m. The Patriots boast a 22-6 record this season. The teams last met in 2019, resulting in a double-digit win for American Heritage.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Playoff basketball: Lincoln Park Academy girls reach region championship
