A second half rally by the Lincoln University women's basketball team fell short as Virginia State University hung on to defeat the Lions 76-71 in a foul-plagued contest at Manuel Rivero Hall Saturday afternoon.
 
Virginia State improved to 19-2 overall and 9-2 in Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) games.  The Lions fall to 13-7 overall and 7-4 in league games.
 
Teira Pendleton (Baltimore, Md./Baltimore Polytech) led three Lions in double figures with 20 points.  Shecquan Bailey (Salisbury, Md./Snow Hill (Baltimore City C.C.)) and Michelle Fitzgerald (Baltimore, Md./Md. Academy of Tech & Health Science (N.C. A & T)) added 12 points apiece.  Fitzgerald also led the team with nine rebounds while Bailey dished out a team-high five assists.  Pendleton had three steals.
 
Alexis Smith led the Trojans with 20 points and ten rebounds.  Chrissana Green added 19 points while Keyana Brown chipped in 14.
 
The two teams combined to commit 53 fouls with both teams shooting a total of 72 free throws (31-38 for VSU; 24-34 for Lincoln).The Lions made one more field goal than the Trojans (21-20) but it was VSU who was more efficient with their shooting, 20-49 (40.8%) to LU's 21-52(33.9%).  The Trojans outrebounded the Lions 43-38 while Lincoln committed eight fewer turnovers (13-21).
 
Virigina State took their largest lead of the game 41-32 with 6:09 left in the third quarter when the Lions began their comeback with an 11-3 flourish to tie the game at 43-43 with 2:56 left in the period.  Three point field goals from Pendleton and Bailey started the run with Fitzgerald putting the finishing touches with a layup, followed by a traditional three point play to tie the score before being forced to with foul trouble.  Brown scored the next four VSU points before Pendleton's three-point play  brought Lincoln back within one 47-46 with 14 seconds left.  Brown scored a last second layup to make the score 49-46 in favor of the Trojans heading into the final quarter.
 
DeeDee Irwin (Coatesville, Pa./Coatesville Area) sank a three-point shot from the baseline to open the fourth quarter, tying the game at 49-49 before the Trojans went on a 12-3 run to go back up by nine 61-52 with 5:19 remaining.  A 7-02 run by the Lions, capped by three free throws from Brianna Logan (Lumberton, N.J./Rancocas Valley (Siena)) closed the gap to four 63-59 with 3:27 left.   The VSU lead would oscillate between four and six points 2:43 with Shahra Madison (Chesapeake, Va./Norfolk Collegiate School (Chesapeake College))'s layup with 44 seconds left again brining the Lions within four, 68-64.  This would be as close as Lincoln would get as the Trojans were a perfect 8-8 from the free throw line over the final 40 seconds to hang on for the five-point win.
 
Lincoln returns to action on Wednesday, February 7, 2018 when they travel to face Bowie State University in a CIAA North Division contest.  Tipoff is at 5:30 p.m.