A strong  effort in the second and fourth quarters by the Lincoln University women's basketball team gave the Lions the impetus they needed as they went on to earn the win in their Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association opener 68-59 over Livingstone College Tuesday night at Manuel Rivero Hall.

The Lions improve to 3-5 overall and 1-0 in CIAA games.  Livingstone falls to 3-6 overall and 0-2 in league play.

Teira Pendleton (Baltimore, Md./Baltimore Polytech) led all scorers with 16 points (6-14 FG, 4-5 FT) while McKenzie Spencer (Richmond, Va./Henrico) added 13 points (4-11 FG, 4-7 FT).  Diamond Mickle (Philadelphia, Pa./Paul VI (Va.) (Harford C.C.)) led all players with 11 rebounds.  She'quan Bailey had three assists to lead the Lions.  All 11 players who saw action for the Lions scored  at least one point.

Brittany Taylor and Zena Lovette led the Blue Bears with 14 and 13 points respectively.  Shannon Buchanan had a team-high seven rebounds while Bria Patterson had four assists.

A poor shooting first quarter (25%, 4-16) led to a seven point deficit for the Lions at 20-13 as the second period began.  Bailey opened the quarter with a short jumper and the Lions went on to make three of their next five shots as part of a 10-2 run that saw the team take a 23-22 lead.   Pendleton capped the run with a layup+one.  Livingstone scored the next four points before Lincoln went on an 8-0 run to take five point lead, 31-26.  Pendleton started the run with another layup followed by two free throws from Wynter McLaughlin.  McLaughlin added another basket and Monique Cheek's (Teaneck, NJ/Harford Community College) layup with 2:56 left in the first half completed the run.  Livingstone scored four of the quarter's final six points as the Lions went into the halftime break up 33-30.

Four different players contributed to a 9-2 run by the Lions to open the third quarter, boosting their lead to double figures a 42-32.  LU still led by eight 44-36 with 3:13 left in the quarter when the Blue Bears cut the lead back to three with a 9-4 run to close out the quarter.

Pendleton scored Lincoln's first five points of the fourth quarter, starting a 10-2 flourish that gave the Lions their largest lead of the game at 58-47 at the 5:36 mark.  Livingstone had one last run left in them, outscoring Lincoln 8-3 over the next four minutes to close within six 61-55 before a layup from Mickle and another layup+one from Pendleton pushed the lead back to 11 at 66-55 with just 51 seconds left in the game.  Two free throws from Mickle closed out the scoring as the Lions finished with a nine-point win 68-59.

After starting the game shooting just 1-11, the Lions finished the game shooting 40% (22-55).  Livingstone shot just 33.3% (23-69).  Lincoln dominated on the free throw line, making 22-37 (59.5%) while Livingstone made only eight (out of 13).  The Lions also held a 50-37 advantage on the glass (32-19 on the defensive side).  Both teams combined for 55 turnovers (LU-30; LC-25).

The Lions return to action on Thursday, December 15, 2016 when they host Winston-Salem State University at 5:30 p.m.