LINCOLN --- Lincoln turned the tables on Ponaganset.

Losers of a 18-point decision on the road to the Chieftains in their Jan. 11 meeting, the Lions took care of business in the opening minutes of Wednesday night's rematch by storming out to leads of 15-5 and 24-10 in the first half and ending up with a 49-38 victory.

Junior guard Ashley O'Dell's game-high 20 points and seven steals led the Lions' attack, and it was her first 13 points of the night in the opening 10:09 that gave the hosts their 24-10 cushion and firm control of the game.

The victory raises the Lions' league record to 9-7 -- the same mark as the Chieftains -- and both teams have two Division 1-North games left on their schedules before the state playoffs.

"It feels really good to beat them," added Lincoln coach Mike Bedrossian. "They're a tough team that's beaten us the last three times we played them, and to get a split with them is good, especially with the way the standings are right now."

The win may have been good for the Lions, but it wasn't a pretty one. The Lions turned the ball over 25 times and were in an offensive funk through most of the second half, accounting for just seven points in the first 12 1/2 minutes of play.

Luckily for the Lions, they owned a 34-17 command at the break, and the Chieftains were only able to trim their deficit to nine (41-32) before a layup by Stephanie Corio with 3:25 to play in the game and a pair of free throws by O'Dell with 2:29 to go zapped any drama that may have remained in the contest.

"I thought it was an ugly victory, but a good victory," added Bedrossian. "We really needed it, but as (assistant) coach (John Aurecchia) said, we still have to work on a lot of things, especially before the playoffs."

"We weren't in sync the whole first half," added Ponaganset coach Gary Martinelli. "In the second half, we had a lot more energy and adrenaline. I think we were a little embarrassed, and because of that, we put forth a better effort. But we don't shoot the ball well enough to come back from 17 down. We made a little run and made it interesting, but I don't think we put too much of a scare into them."

The Chieftains, who entered the contest with wins in four of their last five games, produced less than 40 points for the second straight game. But unlike their 36-35 'Senior Night' win over St. Raphael Academy on Monday, they struggled in the turnover department and coughed up the ball an unusually-high 31 times.

"We can't turn the ball over that many times against anyone," added Martinelli. "A lot of our turnovers were unforced -- just throwing the ball down the court in the middle of nowhere -- and I don't know what causes that. I think sometimes we get down by a few points and try to make it up in one possession. We just need to get the ball inside, and once we get the ball inside, we're pretty good."

The Chieftains received 10 points from senior forward Melanie Cline and nine from junior forward Steph Constant. Senior point guard Brittany Saccoccio, who tossed in a game-high 18 points in last month's 51-33 victory over the Lions, finished with just three points on a three-pointer with 58 seconds to go in the game.

The Lions also got a standout performance from forward Melanie Ferreira, who will be the only senior honored before her team's 'Senior Night' game tomorrow against SRA. Ferreira also added eight points and 12 rebounds, but was a big plus on the defensive boards, especially in the first half.

Sophomore forward Stephanie Prusko also contributed eight points and six assists for the Lions, who after tomorrow's game against the Saints, finish their regular season next week at Cumberland High.

The Chieftains' final two contests are on the road, tomorrow night against the Clippers and a tough test next week against division leader La Salle Academy.