December 17, 2010
HCV Preview: Lincoln
Junior Timiah Calamito enters her second season as Lincoln's starting point guard.
Click Here for Lincoln girls basketball photos
By Jason Bernstein
Editorial Director
Last season was supposed to be a rebuilding season for the Lincoln girls basketball team. Instead, a talented group of young players took many by surprise by winning 16 games and advancing all the way to the finals of the Hudson County Tournament.
Most of that group returns and the Lions expect to contend once again in 2011. A big reason for that optimism is one of the county’s best collection of post players with Zierra Williams, Breana Bey and Indigo Hatcher.
“It’s a really tough trio of inside players to defend,” head coach Tom Best said. “We have 2-3 girls who can score inside. When they start keying in on Z, Breana or Indigo can take advantage.”
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Williams, a senior, is one of the league’s top interior scorers. The 5-foot-9 senior is a double-double threat every night and as the focal point of opposing defenses, helps create scoring chances for her teammates.
“It’s a nice advantage to have because Zierra opens things up for our shooters,” Best said. “As she goes, we go.”
One of the biggest beneficiaries of the attention shifted towards Williams should be Bey, a sophomore transfer from St. Anthony. The 5-foot-10 Bey combines a developing mid-range game with the strength the drive towards the rim.
Hatcher, who will come off the bench, is the best defender of the trio of bigs and was described by Best as a “jack of all trades.”
All of the defensive attention inside should help provide plenty of opportunities for senior guard Nhire Adams, a returning starter and the team’s top outside shooter. Adams is joined n the backcourt by defensive specialist Shaquanna Bates and Timiah Calamito. Calamito has shown a greater comfort in her second season as the Lions’ starting point guard.
“It’s such a luxury having went through the growing pains of young guards,” Best said. “Things are coming a lot quicker for Timiah now and she’s like a coach out there.”
Sophomore Chaniyah Swane is an outside shooter off the bench for Lincoln. A trio of freshmen – guards Jadela Gaston and Pamela Larocco and forward She-Kinah Suber – round out the rotation.
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