6A girls basketball state round one: Third quarter spoils Lincoln upset bid, Benson lone survivor

BEAVERTON – There was no fear from Lincoln High School girls basketball, the No. 19 seed, taking on No. 14 Beaverton in the first round of the 6A state playoffs.

The underdog Cardinals held the lead for a bit in the first half on the road in the last varsity basketball game set to be played in the Beavers’ home gym. A Jasa Lindsey 3-pointer to open the third frame put Lincoln up 33-32.

However, the Beavers started to attack the paint and got the Cardinals into foul trouble, which snowballed into a 22-6 third quarter advantage that ultimately gave Beaverton the 72-60 win.

The Beavers advance to the second round where they will play No. 3 Benson on Saturday, March 7.

“I’m very proud of our team, we came out and fought really, really hard,” Lincoln second-year head coach Brent Reed said. “We were within inches of beating them. This is a tough gym to play in, their last game here and we were fighting.”

The Lindsey sisters in senior Siri and sophomore Jasa were a big part of that fight as the two combined for 12 points in the first quarter to keep Lincoln close, down 17-13.

Siri Lindsey hit her third 3-pointer of the night in the second, but had to come out due to foul trouble.

Jasa Lindsey stepped right up to the plate and hit two threes along with four free throws for 10 more points and 16 total at the break.

Fellow sophomore Willow Dolin Martin was playing tough defense and causing havoc for the Beaverton guards, getting a steal and score in the closing minutes of the first half.

The Beavers led just 32-30 at the break after sophomore Mila Watson was able to score 14 points through some big shots.

Jasa Lindsey stayed hot in the second half, opening it with a made 3-pointer at the top of the key to signal the Cardinals were in it.

On the other end, the fouls started to mount for Lincoln as forward Eva Keenan picked up her fourth foul quickly from the Beavers attacking the paint.

Credit to Beaverton, who finished the night shooting 26-for-31 from the free throw line, led by Ruby Foord who was a perfect 8-for-8 from the charity stripe.

Foord was a machine around the rim in the third, scoring 12 points alone. Meanwhile, the Cardinals offense couldn’t buy a bucket and lost the third quarter 22-6 to fall behind 54-36.

Lincoln never stopped fighting though as Jasa Lindset poured in 13 more points in the fourth to finish with 32, a new career high.

“(Jasa) has been an engine for our team all year long, she’s a steading force that really provides a lot for us on offense and on defense,” Reed said. “Tonight, she decided she was going to try and take over and her full skill set was on display. She was hitting threes, she was driving to the basket, there were no weaknesses in her game.”

Despite the push from Jasa Lindsey, the Cardinals couldn’t quite close the gap created from the third quarter and fell 72-60 to end their season at 16-10.

Siri Lindsey contributed 17 points in the loss. Foord finished with 20 points to lead the Beavers while Watson had 18.

While the season comes to a close for Lincoln, it was a highly successful one taking second in the PIL. The Cardinals hadn’t finished in the top three since the 2019-2020 season.

Siri Lindsey and her fellow seniors Darby Drozdenko and Riley DeBose helped reset the winning ways in Goose Hollow.

“They were great, not just on the court – we’re going to lose a lot of skill and a lot of minutes that played this year – but they helped establish a culture that I think is going to last,” Reed said. “They really pushed us to play together and have great team chemistry. We’re going to miss that.”

There’s plenty to be excited about coming back though alongside Jasa Lindsey and Martin, leaving the future looking bright for the returners who are set to carry on that culture.

“We’re very excited, we think we have a core group that is really going to turn some heads in the next couple of years,” Reed said. “And some of them were definitely on display tonight.”

More local first round results

No surprise here, No. 3 Benson handled No. 30 Westview with ease, taking out the Wildcats 87-25 at home.

Kemara Phillips had the big night this time for the Astros, scoring 23 points along with eight steals and three assists. Samarah Massey, the newly crowned PIL Player of the Year, had 22 points, seven assists and five rebounds while Jayla Lackey had 15 points and eight rebounds.

Benson will get those No. 14 Beavers in the second round to try and get some revenge for the PIL. Tip time is still TBD but will be Saturday, March 7 at Benson.

Five more local schools join Lincoln with the season ending in the first round on Wednesday night.

No. 22 Grant put up a strong fight at No. 11 Oregon City, but fell 46-33. Junior Charlotte Wilson had 14 points to lead the Generals who finished the season 15-11 overall.

No. 24 Central Catholic went south to play No. 9 West Salem and things went south in a 76-44 defeat. Sam Carlston and Coco Lerits each had 10 points to lead the Rams who ended the year 12-13.

No. 25 Cleveland had to play at No. 8 Jesuit and couldn’t find a rhythm in the 52-27 loss. Cate Kelly led the Warriors with eight points as the Warriors closed the 2025-2026 season at 14-12 overall.

No. 27 Ida B. Wells met a similar fate in Salem as Central Catholic, falling 59-32 to No. 6 South Salem. Iselie Spicer led with eight points to close out a 12-14 campaign for the Guardians.

No. 31 Jefferson had the hardest task of the bunch, having to play No. 2 West Linn, who took out the Democrats 71-30. Mackenzee Lawrence did well with 17 points, but Jefferson’s season comes to a close at 9-15 overall.