The Lincoln University women's basketball stayed close with second place Virginia State University for the first two quarters before a dominant third quarter by the Trojans turned a close game into a rout as they defeated the Lions 69-50 Saturday afternoon at Manuel Rivero Hall.
 
The Lions finish the regular season with a 7-19 record and a 4-12 mark in Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association games.  VSU heads into the CIAA tournament with a 19-7 overall record and an 11-5 overall record in conference games.   Lincoln will be the fifth seed from the north division in the upcoming CIAA Tournament which begins on Tuesday.
 
Teira Pendleton (Baltimore, Md./Baltimore Polytech) led Lincoln with 11 points while senior Monique Cheek (Teaneck, NJ/Harford Community College) chipped in ten.  Diamond Mickle (Philadelphia, Pa./Paul VI (Va.) (Harford C.C.)) led the team with eight rebounds.  De'jah Taylor (Nanuet, NY/Paramus Catholic Regional) had six rebounds and seven points in her final home game in a Lincoln uniform.
 
VSU put four players in double figures, led by Nandi Taylor's 13 points.  Taylor Daniels recorded a double-double with ten points and a game-high 11 rebounds while Endia McKinney and Domonique Hagins had 11 and ten points respectively.  Taylor led the team with five assists while Joy Hickman had four.
 
Lincoln had led early in the first quarter before the Trojans rebounded to take a 24-22 lead at halftime.  Loreal Bledsoe's (Clinton, MD/Virginia University of Lynchburg) two free throws tied the game at 24-24 in the opening minute of play in the third quarter before the Trojans caught fire  , going on an 11 -1  to take a 35-25 lead at the 7:16 mark.   VSU shot 4-4 from the field with three three-pointers during the run.    Pendleton's three-point play midway through the period cut the deficit to five at 37-32 but the Trojans closed out the quarter with a 17-3 spurt to lead by 19 with one more quarter to play. VSU finished the quarter shooting 63.2%  (12-19) while the Lions shot just 30.8% (4-13).
 
The Trojans increased their lead to as many as 23 over the course of the fourth quarter while the Lions could not get any closer than 16 points at 57-41 with 7:27 left. 
 
Lincoln will open conference tournament play on Tuesday at the Bojangles Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.