On Monday night, the Varsity girls basketball team took down Tuscarora in a heated semifinal game with a final score of 55-49.

The Lancers were lead by Sophia Heitzig with 12 points, followed by Olivia Weinel with 10 points. Ashley Bonanno also chipped in, adding 9  points.

Linganore came out strong in the first half, behind strong point guard play from Bonanno and a solid man defense. A slew of offensive rebounds and extra possessions for Tuscarora proved vital for the Titans, chipping a seven point first quarter deficit to three at halftime.

Coming out of a 27-24 halftime break, both teams came out fired up. Strong defensive rebounding from Grace Brooks and the aggressive offensive attack from Sophia Heitzig helped cushion the Lancers’ lead to five. The quarter ended with a 42-37 advantage to Linganore.

Tuscarora came into the 4th quarter with their backs against the wall, and played themselves back into the game, cutting their deficit to three. With the Lancers leading 49-46 with two minutes to go, Caroline Ward and Ashley Bonanno came in the clutch and knocked down their free throws to further their lead into a two possession game. When the buzzer sounded, the Lancers rejoiced with a 55-49 victory.

The pressure of this potentially being the Lancer’s final game surely didn’t hurt the team performance. According to junior forward Grace Brooks, that helped motivate them to will themselves to win.

“We didn’t wanna to go home tonight. We didn’t wanna have to turn in our jerseys. That was what really motivated us,” said Brooks.

The Lancers play their conference championship against Frederick at Frederick High school on Wednesday, March 1st at 6:00.