WASHINGTON, D.C. – Lincoln tied a season-best six made three pointers in a, 68-61, road loss to District of Columbia on Saturday, December 5^th at the UDC Sports Complex. De'jah Taylor (Nanuet, NY/Paramus Catholic Regional) had a double-double off of the bench with 14 points and 13 rebounds.

Lincoln was stunned early after a slow start in the first quarter of action of their non-conference matchup against the Firebirds of the District of Columbia. The Lady Lions found themselves down 22-7 after the quarter. Heading into the second quarter LU began to turn things around outscoring UDC, 25-15. Senior guard Courtney Smith (Milwaukee, WI/Nicolet HS) had seven points in the first half knocking down all four of her free throws.

Sophomore forward Teira Pendleton (Baltimore, MD/Baltimore Poly Institute) scored six early points along with junior center De'jah Taylor (Nanuet, NY/Paramus Catholic Regional) while senior forward Lisa Saunders (Hampton, VA/Hampton HS) added five points. Lincoln was held to 32% (10-of-32) shooting from the floor but capitalized off of 9-of-13 made free throws. District of Columbia made 5-of-8 three pointers and finished the first half 54% (13-for-24) from the field.

Trailing by five at the half (37-32), LU finally tied the game at 37-37 at the 8:12 mark on a jumper by Courtney Smith (Milwaukee, WI/Nicolet HS). De'jah Taylor (Nanuet, NY/Paramus Catholic Regional) followed with a basket in the paint, but a layup by Teira Pendleton (Baltimore, MD/Baltimore Poly Institute) shortly after gave the Lady Lions a 41-39 lead with 7:22 remaining in the quarter. Taylor had a productive quarter for the Lady Lions posting five points and four rebounds. LU also dominated the points in the paint for that period 12-2 and limited UDC to only three made field goals.

UDC showed up late in the game with an aggressive defense and retook the lead by the fourth period. Lincoln trailed by five (52-47) with 8:54 left to play but a shot from downtown by Lisa Saunders (Hampton, VA/Hampton HS) cut the deficit down to two points (52-50). Saunders made another three pointer down the stretch cutting the UDC lead to one (55-54) with 5:20 left to play. Then Taylor proceeded to tie the game once more with 4:18 on the clock on a made free-throw. As the final moments approached the Firebirds remained poised at home.

With under a minute to play Taylor made a layup as Lincoln trailed 63-61 with 52-seconds left. The Lady Lions failed on three separate attempts from three point range in the final minute while UDC converted on 5-of-6 free throws downing the Lady Lions, 68-61. Lincoln allowed 12-of-13 free throw attempts by the District of Columbia in the final quarter while struggling from the field by going 4-for-18.

De'jah Taylor (Nanuet, NY/Paramus Catholic Regional) had a double-double posting a season-high 14 points and then grabbing a career-high 13 rebounds along with three blocked shots. Lisa Saunders (Hampton, VA/Hampton HS) scored a season-high 11 points including a season-best three made three pointers and Courtney Smith (Milwaukee, WI/Nicolet HS) also had 11 points and finished a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line.

The Lady Lions fall to 4-3 overall and UDC improves to 4-3 overall. Lincoln will open up CIAA play on Tuesday, December 15^th at 5:30 p.m. in Charlotte, N.C. against Johnson C. Smith University.