In their final home game of the 2018 calendar year, the Lincoln University women's basketball team struggled to get on track as they dropped a 71-51 decision to Claflin University Wednesday night at Manuel Rivero Hall.
 
The Lions fall to 5-8 overall with the loss and 1-3 in Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association games.  Claflin, who snapped a three-game losing streak with the win, improves to 7-7 overall and 5-3 in league contests.
 
Kwanza Murray (Summerville, S.C./Summerville (Lackawanna College)) was the lone Lincoln player to reach double figures, scoring 16 points.  Murray also grabbed a team high nine rebounds.   Dominique Allen (Upper Marlboro, Md./Takoma Academy) added nine points while DeeDee Irwin (Coatesville, Pa./Coatesville Area) and Kenzie Spencer (Richmond, Va./Henrico) chipped in eight apiece.  Deja Reynolds (Philadelphia, Pa./Imhotep Charter (Temple)) led the team with five assists and Jada Queen (Trenton, N.J./Trenton Catholic) had five blocks.
 
Ashley Fields recorded a double-double with 26 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Panthers.  Fields also led the team with four assists and five steals.  Dionna Long added 13 points while Deja Dickens chipped in 12. Carmen Robinson had ten rebounds .
 
The Lions held an 11-8 lead late in the first quarter before the turnover bug bit them.  Turnovers on four straight possessions led to nine straight Panther points as Claflin took an 17-11 lead heading into the second quarter.
 
Claflin used a 7-1 run to take a double digit lead at the start of the second quarter and built the lead to 16, 33-17 with 2:34 left in quarter  before the Lions trimmed the margin to 12 at halftime, 34-22.
 
Irwin opened the third quarter with a three-pointer cutting the lead to nine 34-25 but the Panthers quickly pushed the lead back into double digits, where It would stay until the midway point of the fourth period.  Spencer's layup at the 5:15 mark started a 10-4 run, pulling the Lions within five, 56-51.  Claflin closed out the game on a 15-0 run to make the final score 71-51.
 
Lincoln shot 29.8%  (14-47) from the field for the game and 53.8% (21-39) from the free throw line.  Claflin was slightly better in both categories, making 23 of 62 shots from the field (37.1%) and 19 of 32 (59.4%) from the free throw line.  The Lions  committed 26 turnovers which led to nearly half of Claflin's points (34) while Lincoln scored 13 points off 18 Panther turnovers.
 
The women's basketball team is now off for the  NCAA mandatory Winter Break and will resume action on December 31, 2018 with a game at Wilmington University