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CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Lincoln University women's basketball made history on Tuesday night as the Lady Lions held off a late charge by Johnson C. Smith, 50-46, during the opening round of the CIAA Basketball Tournament at Time Warner Cable Arena.
 
“I'm very proud of the way the girls stepped up tonight,” Lincoln head coach Jessica Kern said. “We've been very inconsistent in the energy category. Our energy has been very high and very low this season. We've written a lot of history for us at Lincoln this year, but not leaving after the first day means a whole lot to our school and this program.”
 
With the win, Lincoln (10-17) became the first Lady Lions team to make it out of the first round of the CIAA Tournament. In its previous two seasons as a member of the CIAA, Lincoln lost in the first round.
 
“We are riding on the coattails of our men,” Kern said. “They've been extremely successful this year and energy is contagious. Our girls, even in two years, have been much better than before I got hired. The bar has been set high and they want more. They want more, but short memory because tomorrow's a very big game for us.”
 
The Lady Lions advance to meet top seed from the Southern Division, Fayetteville State, at 3 p.m., on Wednesday. The Lady Broncos enter the contest ranked No. 22 in NCAA Division II. To follow the contests through Live Stats and Live Twitter updates, click here. To follow through Live Streaming, click here.
 
“Fayetteville State has had a great season,” Kern said. “They're a very talented team. We have to play solid defense and we have to simply put the ball in the hole.”
 
Cynthia Johnson (Baltimore, MD/Baltimore Polytechnic Institute), who was selected the game's Most Valuable Player, paced Lincoln with 22 points on 9-of-14 shooting and added seven rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals. Tahlar McIntosh (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mt. Alvernia HS) poured in eight points and grabbed a game-high 10 boards as the Lady Lions were 16-of-48 shooting for 33 percent.
 
“Defense is our key and has always been our key,” Johnson said. “This game proved we definitely can defend.”
 
Lincoln quickly raced out to a 17-6 advantage after a Johnson three-point play with 13:51 remaining in the first half. The Lady Golden Bulls closed the gap to 17-14 after a free throw by LaTondra Morrow with 9:18 left.
 
The Lady Lions extended the advantage to 28-19 after a Johnson 3-pointer with 2:07 left, but Johnson C. Smith rallied and cut the deficit to 30-24 before halftime.
 
Lincoln, who led throughout the contest, opened up a 38-30 advantage after a Johnson layup with 12:50 remaining. But Johnson C. Smith used a 10-1 run over the next six minutes to cut the margin to 41-40 after a pair of Ny'Jae Dickerson free throws with 6:40 left.
 
The Lady Lions got a layup by Johnson on their next offensive possession and a free throw by Amani Clark (Middletown, DE/Appoquinimink HS) pushed the advantage to 44-40 with 4:21 left. The Lady Golden Bulls refused to go away, cutting the deficit to 49-46 after a free throw by LaKendra Wilkerson with nine seconds remaining, but a free throw by Mfon Ekanem (Springdale, Md./C.H. Flowers HS) with six seconds left sealed the victory for Lincoln.
 
“Going to go back my statements last year, I said that Lincoln (Pa.) was a program on the move in the right direction,” Lady Golden Bulls coach Stephen Joyner Jr., said. “It's very evident by their ranking in the CIAA North and very evident by them moving forward. All congratulations go to them. They played very hard. They even withstood the run that we made in the first half and in the second half.”
 
Kaylah Gholson led Johnson C. Smith with 17 points, including going 7-of-10 from the free-throw line. Wilkerson added 10 points and 10 rebounds as the Lady Golden Bulls shot 26 percent (14-of-54).
 
Johnson C. Smith ends the season with an 8-18 record.
 
Lady Lions Notebook: Lincoln started the game strong by shooting 7-of-12 from the floor for 58 percent…The Lady Lions were 3-of-10 from behind the 3-point line (Brittney Waters (Capitol Heights, Md./Charles H. Flowers), Cynthia Johnson (Baltimore, MD/Baltimore Polytechnic Institute) and Courtney Smith (Milwaukee, WI/Nicolet HS))…Lincoln out-rebounded Johnson C. Smith, 47-43…The Lady Lions finished with seven steals, six assists and one blocked shot...In its previous two CIAA Tournament games, Lincoln lost to Shaw (95-63) and Winston-Salem State (79-57)…There were no ties and no lead changes as the Lady Lions led the entire time…Lincoln head coach Jessica Kern has a 2-1 record against Johnson C. Smith and has won its last two games against the Lady Golden Bulls…Lincoln won its 10^th game, the most since the 2006-2007 season when the Lady Lions went 17-8.