Lyle Pearson had a look of relief on his face and a sense of excitement in his voice following his Lincoln girls upset win over the fourth-ranked Roosevelt Rough Riders Tuesday night 59-54.

Last weekend was tough for the Pats (12-7) losing at Mitchell but being competitive against arguably a number-one caliber team in the Kernels. Then the Patriots played miserably Saturday afternoon at O'Gorman.

"The whole month has been tough for us for all we been through," said Pearson. "To come back tonight short-handed against an athletic team like Roosevelt, it was a great effort to get the win."

The Patriots received great news from the doctor on Tuesday as senior point guard Darby Hugunin will be back for Monday’s opening game in District 2. The Patriots are 5-4 since losing Hugunin to a broken left radius suffered during a win over then-No. 1 Washington on January 22. Senior forward Mica Standing Soldier, who again missed Tuesday’s contest with a sprained ankle, will also be back. She has been out a couple of weeks.

Hugunin said she will wear a padded brace on her arm. Pearson says she still feels some tenderness in her left wrist.

The Patriots winning formula Tuesday was limiting the Riders (14-5) to primarily jumpers and keep them off the free-throw line.

Lincoln shot 52 percent from the floor in each half, held the Rough Riders to 30 percent shooting in the second half and out rebounded them 38-30.

Cera Ledbetter had 16 points and 12 rebounds, sophomores Sydney Miller and Ellie Brecht each scored 12 points. Emilee Pierson added 10 points and seven rebounds. Point guard Shelby Merritt had six rebounds and seven assists.

"I just like the fact that we now have more girls that are feeling confident and feeling good as prepare for district play," said Pearson.

The Pats will host Yankton in the first round of District 2 Monday

Sophomore Tagyn Larson led seven Roosevelt scorers with 12 points. Katelyn Johnson, Lauren Kunz and Haleigh Gunn chipped in nine apiece. Roosevelt closes out the regular season on Thursday at home against Marshall and will host Brookings in a District 1 opener next Monday.

ROOSEVELT (14-5)

Katelyn Johnson 3 0-0 9, Nicole Hatcher 3 1-1 7, Lauren Kunz 4 0-0 9, Paige Mriden 2 2-2 7, Tagyn Larson 5 2-2 12, Taylor Deutsch 1 0-0 2, Kelsi Wipf 0 0-0 0, Stacy Johnson 0 0-0 0, Haleigh Gunn 4 0-1 8. Totals 22 5-6 54.

LINCOLN (12-7)

Emilee Pierson 5 0-2 10, Cera Ledbetter 8 0-0 16, Sydney Miller 4 4-5 12, Shelby Merritt 2 0-1 5, Ellie Brecht 5 0-0 12, Lexi Hamiel 0 0-0 0, Jill Ricke 2 0-0 4. Totals 26 4-8 59.

Roosevelt  10 30 39 54

Lincoln       14 31 46 59

3-pointers – RHS 6 (Johnson 3), LHS 3 (Brecht 2). Rebounds – RHS 30 (Kunz 6), LHS 38 (Ledbetter 12). Total fouls – RHS 14, LHS 7.

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