Noakes attributed her return to her old game to a poor performance against Boyle County and a few words of support from her father.
"I didn't do too well at the Boyle County game and he told me, 'Sissy, you have to play your best,'� Noakes aid. "He said 'I'm with you in heart and I'm listening to you. I hear people tell me how you play, so do your best.'�
"That helped me so much. I'm at a place now where I realize that he's still with me and I know, as soon as I get home, I'm going to run and tell him everything,� she said. "He told me to just play my hardest, play like he's there - and I did that tonight.�
Noakes' improved play was showing early as she grabbed a couple rebounds before draining a three-point goal to open her scoring. Noakes added another bucket and got two assists as Lincoln opened up a 19-7 lead.
Noakes was not alone, Jenny Jones scored the first three points of the game with a bucket and free throw and would score another basket late off a Noakes' assist. Megan Pitts hit with a trey and a field goal, Keira Henderson banked in a shot and Shakelia Miller drove inside for two as the Lady Pats took a 12-point lead.
Lincoln was 8-for-13 in the first quarter and would go on to shoot 49 percent for the game on 24-for-49 shooting.
"From 3-point we were 6-for-14 and we were 18-for-35 from two, 24-for-49, it's been a while since we've shot that good,� said Lincoln Coach Don Story. "We still turned the ball over more than I want. Eighteen turnovers is not terrible but it's not the best. But I am really proud of how well they shot the ball tonight.�
Krischelle Richardson, who led East Jessamine with seven points, scored with a trey to open the Lady Jaguar scoring in the first and added a second trey to open the second quarter.
East Jessamine used Richardson's second trey and a free throw apiece from Richardson and Krischelle Ford to help keep Lincoln's lead at 10, 22-12 then Ashley Willoughby made it a 22-16 ballgame, driving inside for back-to-back baskets on the Lady Patriots defense.
"There was a stretch in the second quarter where we kind of lost focus and our defense wasn't good,� Story said. "It seemed like they drove a couple times and got some good shots. Our defense wasn't that good for a little bit.�
The "little bit� of a let down had ended by the midpoint mark of the second as Lincoln went on a 12-6 run.
Masterson scored six of the 12 points down low and Amber Statham picked up the slack on the outside draining three three-point shots as Lincoln opened up a 34-20 halftime lead.
Lincoln faced little challenge in the second half as the Lady Pat "D� shut down the Lady Jaguars allowing them just nine points in the second half.
"We knew that this team wasn't a Boyle County but we knew they could score,� Noakes said. "Coach Story told us that we had to come back out and we had to pick up on defense if we wanted to be able to put them (East Jessamine) out of the game.�
Story applauded his team for a strong defensive second half.
"We kind of challenged them at halftime to stay a little tight and get down on the shooters and they did that,� he said. "The second half they just scored nine points. I was real happy with that.�
"This wasn't one of those games where we just blew them out early and it was a runaway. It was more of a gradual, consistent thing,� Story said. "We were up 14 at half and ended up winning by about 30 points by making some plays - playing good defense and shooting well.�
East Jessamine (6-10) shot a chilly 23 percent for the game on 12 of 53 shooting.
At the foul line, Lincoln was 7-for-13 while East Jessamine was 3-for-6.
Rounding out Lincoln's scoring for th game were Amber Statham with nine points, Jenny Jones with eight, Megan Pitts with five, Keira Henderson with four, Shakelia Miller with three and Lindsey Long, Savannah Lane, Kendra Brown and Nikki Bustle each with two points.
"It was an overall good team performance and I was pleased with the effort,� Story said. "Everybody got a chance to perform and did a good job, even the last five, they all pushed the ball up the court and found the open person and made some shots.�
