SPEARFISH - Sioux Falls Lincoln took advantage of 32 Spearfish turnovers and captured a 61-40 win over the Spartans in girls basketball at Spearfish on Friday night. It marked the season opener for both of the Greater Dakota Conference teams.

The game matched veteran teams that each started five seniors.

Lincoln threw a full-court pressure defense at Spearfish at the start of the game and forced the Spartan girls into four turnovers during the opening 90 seconds of action. Lincoln converted all four ball-handling mistakes into easy layups to grab a quick 8-0 lead.

The Patriots went up 14-5 after one quarter and never trailed in the hectic, fast-paced game which saw both teams race down the floor at every opportunity.

"You just can't turn the ball over 32 times," first-year Spartan coach Bryce Hall said. "Our problem was our girls hurried too much on offense and then rested on defense. I want us to do just the opposite. We need to take our time on offense and then play all-out at the defensive end."

Even though his team lost by 21 points, Hall was not discouraged.

"I was pleased with the way our girls competed. We picked things up defensively in the second half, and the girls did a good job of looking for the outlet pass after grabbing a rebound," said Hall.

Spearfish finished strong by tossing in 21 points in the final quarter after trailing 43-19 at the end of three periods. Spartans went on a scoring spurt early in the fourth quarter, outscoring Lincoln 15-5 to slice the Patriots' lead to 15 points, 50-35. Sioux Falls shot well at the free throw line in the closing minutes to prevent Spearfish from getting closer.

Erika Carlson and Sydney Tetrault topped the Spartan girls in scoring with eight points each.

Guard Sara Peters led Lincoln with 16 points, most coming on quick drives to the bucket. Katie Herther, a strong 5-10 post player, added 14 points.

Poor free throw shooting (6-18) hurt the Spartans.

Spearfish will host Sioux Falls Washington at 1 p.m. Saturday, while Lincoln travels to Sturgis.

"Washington was ranked No. 2 in one poll I saw, so I expect them to be the tougher of our weekend opponents," Hall said.

Hall served as interim women's coach at Si Tanka University in Huron during the 2003-2004 season. Ironically, the man he replaced at Spearfish, Pete Wilson, is now an assistant coach for the Lincoln varsity girls basketball squad.