DeeDee Irwin (Coatesville, Pa./Coatesville Area) made four three pointers and scored a career high 14 points as the Lincoln University women's basketball team won its fifth straight game, defeating Shaw University 78-57 Monday afternoon at Manuel Rivero Hall.
 
Lincoln has now won nine of its last ten games and improves to 10-4 overall on the season and 5-1 in Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) games.  The Lions 5-1 conference record is their best start in conference play ever since rejoining the CIAA in 2008.   Shaw falls to 3-13 overall and 1-4 in league play.
 
Irwin's 14 points led the team.  The freshman guard was a perfect 4-4 from beyond the arc in the fourth quarter, scoring 12 of her 14 points in the period.  Teira Pendleton (Baltimore, Md./Baltimore Polytech) added 13 points on solid 6-for-9 shooting from the field.  Michelle Fitzgerald (Baltimore, Md./Md. Academy of Tech & Health Science (N.C. A & T)) shot 5-for-7 from the field en route to 13 points. Shahra Madison (Chesapeke, Va./Norfolk Collegiate School (Chesapeke College)) led the team with eight rebounds while Shecquan Bailey (Salisbury, Md./Snow Hill (Baltimore City C.C.)) dished out a season-high seven assists.  A total of 11 different players scored for at least one field goal in the contest for the Lions.
 
Lervencia Johnson-Tyler led the Bears with 16 points.  Klimitisha Martin added 14.
 
The Lions jumped out to an early lead and led by as many as eight points in the first quarter before the Bears came storming back to tie the game at the break 28-28.
 
Madison and Pendleton made three shots apiece (all without a miss) in the third quarter as the Lions started to pull away, opening up a 12 point lead 56-44 before putting the game away in the fourth quarter.
 
The 'Bailey-to-Irwin for three' combo was in full force  in the fourth quarter as Bailey assisted on all four of Irwin's three-pointers in the period.  The Lions opened the period with a 13-1 flourish and extended that to a 19-5 run to take their biggest lead at 26 points.  Shaw closed the gap to 18 with eight straight points before Tahniyyah Jackson completed the scored with a traditional three point play.  (Jackson would finish with eight points.)
 
Lincoln shot 48.5% from the field (32-66)  while Shaw connected on 40.4% of their shots (21-52).  Lincoln also had a slight advantage on the boards, outrebounding Shaw 37-35.  The Lions 14 offensive rebounds led to 21 second chance points as Lincoln dominated that category 21-4.  The Lions committed 19 turnovers to SU's 27 and scored 22 points off turners (SU - 12).
 
Lincoln returns to action on Saturday, January 13, 2018 when they host Bowie State University,  Tipoff is set for2:00 p.m.