Box Score
ETTRICK, Va. (February 3, 2011) — Thirteen points by Cynthia Johnson (Randallstown, MD/Baltimore Polytechnic Institute) and nine by Alease Tabb (Brooklyn, NY/Middle College High School) could not overcome the Lady Lions' scoring lulls Thursday night at Daniel Gym.
Tabb's nine points established a new career high, but Virginia State was able to take advantage of its size under the glass and 29 Lincoln turnovers for a 64-46 win.
The game began as a defensive clinic with both teams unable to knock down shots early. Following two offensive boards by the Lady Trojans, Janelle McDowell converted down low more than five minutes into the game for the night's first points.
The Lady Lions' (1-16, 0-10 CIAA, 0-4 North) were held scoreless until a lay-in by Sharay DuBose (Salisbury, Md./Parkside HS) followed an offensive board with 10:53 remaining in the first period. But at that time, VSU had opened a 9-2 edge.
After going down by 10 with 6:10 to go in the half, Danielle Smallwood (Philadelphia, PA/West Catholic) with a nice 3 off the wing cut it to 14-9 with four minutes left in the opening period. But these were several of few offensive bright spots.
At the break, VSU (11-6, 5-4 CIAA, 2-2 North) stretched the lead to a 12-point edge at 25-13. The difference was not shooting efficiency. The Lady Trojans shot just 27 percent to the Lady Lions' 24 percent, but instead was the result of the discrepancy in the number of opportunities. Lincoln's 16 first-half turnovers and Virginia State's 12 offensive rebounds resulted in a combined 21 points.
Cynthia Johnson (Randallstown, MD/Baltimore Polytechnic Institute) opened the second-half scoring with a trey to Get LU back within single digits, but that was as close as the Lady Lions got as scoring difficulties enabled the Lady Trojans to open up a 26-point edge before LU showed its first true signs of offensive life.
AS VSU's lead continued to grow, LU's offense centered around a resurgent Johnson, who showed an ability to knock down the intermediate jumper and get to the basket. Tabb, a forward, consistently nailed jumpers, stretching the defense.
A put-back by Johnson and consecutive transition lay-ups by Brittney Waters (Capitol Heights, Md./Charles H. Flowers) and Sasha Evans (Hampton, VA/Phoebus) got LU back under 20 points at 58-41 with 2:22 to go. Moments later, Johnson knocked down another jumper to get LU with 15, but VSU would firm up in the final moments.
In the second half, the Lady Lions were much better from the floor, shooting 52 percent and turning the ball over fewer times in the first half.
Morgan McGill offered a double-double for VSU with 12 points and 10 rebounds while Rhon'Neisha Taylor's 15 points were a game high.
Up Next
The Lady Lions look for their first conference win against Saint Paul's College on Saturday at Manuel Rivero Hall. In a time change, the game tips off at 1 p.m.
— LU —
