Joy Morton's (Lansdowne, Pa./Penn Wood (Harford C.C.)) two free throws with 0.5 remaining on the clock provided the difference as the Lincoln University women's basketball team rallied from a 15-point fourth quarter deficit to defeat Johnson c. Smith 69-68 Saturday afternoon at Manuel Rivero Hall.

The Lions, off to their best start in program history and ranked #5 in the D2SIDA Atlantic Region media poll, improve to 10-1 on the season.   The Golden Bulls fall to 4-5.

Morton's two free throws, her 11^th and 12^th of the game, capped a furious comeback by the Lions who trailed 59-44 with 8:51 left in the game.  Lincoln still had to hold their breath through as the Golden Bulls were fouled on the ensuing play after Morton's two from the charity stripe gave Lincoln their first lead since the first quarter.  JCSU's Maiya Green went to the free throw line with 0.3 left with a chance to tie.  Green made the first and missed the second and the Lions held on for the win.

Lincoln's Kwanza Murray (Summerville, S.C./Summerville (Lackawanna College)) led all scorers with 22 points.  DeAshia Young (Detroit, Mich./Detroit Public Safety Academy (Labette CC)) added 16 points, eight rebounds and dished out seven assists.  Morton came off the bench to shot a perfect 12-12 from the free throw line, tying a Lincoln school record for best FT percentage in a game.  Only Sharay DuBose (Salisbury, Md./Parkside HS) who made 14 of 14 vs. Fayetteville State in 2010 made more without a miss.  Alisia Machado (Brooklyn, N.Y./Medgar Evars Prep (Grambling)) added eight points and grabbed eight rebounds.

The Lions made 25 of 26 free throws in the game, setting a new team record for free throw shooting percentage in a game (96.2%).  LU was a perfect 17-17 in the second half.  The Lions committed just three second half turnovers after making 18 in the first half and allowing JCSU to score 26 points off their miscues. The Lions also shot just 29.7% from the field but held a 50-41 rebounding advantage.

Murray and Morton led the Lions fourth quarter rally with Murray scoring 12 of her 22 points in the final period and Morton shooting a perfect 8-8 from the free throw line.  It was Murray who opened the scoring with a three-point basket and followed with a layup to cut JCSU's lead to 59-49.   After a layup from JCSU's Alexxus Sowell, Morton sank two free throws and Murray struck again with a layup-and-one and another short jumper to pull Lincoln within five 61-56 with 5:31 remaining.

Malia Rivers' two free throws pushed the Golden Bull lead back to seven but Morton matched her at the free throw line on Lincoln's next possession and You sank a three-point basket to close the gap to two 63-61.  Four straight Golden Bull points gave JCSU a 67-61 lead but the Lions would roar back with eight straight points including Morton's final two free throws to take a 69-67 lead before Green made just one of two from the line with 0.3 left to seal the win for Lincoln.

Rivers led the Golden Bulls with 19 points and was one of four players with seven rebounds. Green added 15 points.  Aubrianna Bonner had six assists and seven boards along with nine points.  Emani Clough and Le'Zerea Bowens also had seven rebounds apiece.

The Lions return to action on Tuesday, December 17, 2019 when they travel to play Caldwell University in Caldwell, New Jersey.