Alisia Machado (Brooklyn, N.Y./Medgar Evars Prep (Grambling)) scored a career-high 28 points as the Lincoln University women's basketball team rallied from an eight point fourth quarter deficit to defeat host Elizabeth City State University 82-76 Wednesday evening at the Vaughn Center in Elizabeth city, North Carolina.
The Lions improve to 14-11 overall and 8-6 in Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) games. The Lions also improve to 5-2 within the CIAA North Division. The Lady Vikings fall to 13-12 overall and 5-9 in league play.
Machado led four Lincoln players in double figures with her 28 point performance. (11-16 FG, 6-7 FT) She also added 11 rebounds and a career-high six blocked shots.
DeAshia Young (Detroit, Mich./Detroit Public Safety Academy (Labette CC)) had 20 points (7-10 FG, 6-8 FT) while
Kwanza Murray (Summerville, S.C./Summerville (Lackawanna College)) and
Kenzie Spencer (Richmond, Va./Henrico) scored 15 and 10 points respectively. Young, Murray and Spencer dished our four assists apiece to pace the Lions.
The Lions trailed by as many as 13 in the first half and rallied to take a 50-48 lead after three quarters. The lady Vikings opened the fourth quarter with a 13-3 spurt to take a 61-53 lead with 6:54 left in the game. The lions then ran off ten straight points to retake the lead Lincoln scoring the first seven points on the free throw line. Young started the run with a pair of free throws and Machado followed by making five of six. Murray added a three-point field goal with 4:25 left to give Lincoln a 63-61 lead. The Lions scored five more points to complete a 15-0 run before ECSU's Markeia Porter broke the run with a free throw with 3:40 left. A short jumper from Machado gave the Lions their largest lead at 70-62 with 3:32 left.
The Lady Vikings clawed their way back, cutting the Lincoln lead in half over the next 1:25 with a 7-3 run. The Lions still led by four with 54 seconds left when Machado made a layup and completed a traditional three point play to put Lincoln up seven 79-72. Lincoln added three more free throws in the final 29 seconds to secure the win.
Asia Deal led the Lady Vikings with 24 points while Jalyn Brown chipped in 22. Devona Still had nine rebounds while Porter dished out six assists.
Deal had 12 of her 24 points in the first quarter as the Lady Vikings built a 20-8 lead and extended that to 23-10 in the opening minutes of the second quarter. Lincoln's defense then went to work, holding ECSU to just four points over the next seven minutes while scoring 18 of their own to take a brief 28-27 lead. The Lady Vikings finished the half on a 6-2 spurt and led 33-30 at the break.
The Lions return to action on Saturday February 16, 2019 when they host Virginia Union University at Manuel Rivero Hall. Tipoff set for 2:00 p.m.
