Kwanza Murray (Summerville, S.C./Summerville (Lackawanna College)) scored a career-high 31 points as the Lincoln University women's basketball team completed the season sweep of Virginia State University with a 66-54 win at Manuel Rivero Hall Saturday afternoon.

The Lions conclude their regular season with a 15-13 overall record and a 9-8 mark in Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) games.  The Lions also finished with a division record of 6-4 and will be the #3 seed in the North for the upcoming CIAA Tournament in Charlotte, North Carolina.  They will face St. Augustine's the #6 seed from the South on Tuesday.

Virginia State falls to 11-15 overall and 5-12 in league play.  With a 3-7 mark in division games the Trojans will be the #5 seed in the north division.

Murray hit a game-high five three point field goals and was 10-11 from the free throw line en route to her career-high 31 points.  DeeDee Irwin (Coatesville, Pa./Coatesville) added nine points (3-5 3FG) while Kenzie Spencer (Richmond, Va./Henrico) chipped in eight.  DeAshia Young (Detroit, Mich./Detroit Public Safety Academy (Labette CC)) stuffed the stat sheet for the second consecutive game with seven rebounds, seven assists, six points and two steals.  Alisia Machado (Brooklyn, N.Y./Medgar Evars Prep (Grambling)) also grabbed seven rebounds and added six points.

Except for a brief 3-3 tie in the first quarter, the Lions led this contest wire-to-wire using an 8-1 run fueled by three-pointers from Irwin and Murray to take a seven point lead and increasing the margin to double digits 33-22 by halftime.  The double digit lead was fueled in part by the Lions taking advantage of ten Trojan turnovers, leading to nine points.  Lincoln meanwhile had a turnover free first quarter for the first time this season and finished the half with just two turnovers, the first coming with just 3:26 left in the second quarter.  Murray had 17 of her 31 points at the half and was the only player making any shots with consistency as the Lions shot just 29% (9-31) in the half.
 
Lincoln used another 8-1 run to open the third quarter and take their biggest lead of the game at 41-23 midway through the quarter.  VSU's then began a rally, finishing out the quarter on a 14-4 tear to cut the Lions lead to eight Chrisanna Green had seven of the Trojans points during the run and Asia Timmons closed out the quarter with a pair of three-point field goals.
 
Machado's layup two minutes into the fourth quarter push the LU lead back up to ten before  VSU made another run, an 11-2 spurt over the next 1:35 to pull within one, 52-51 with 6:09 left.  Murray broke the run with her fifth three-point field goal  and after a defensive stop added a two-point bucket to put the Lions up six 57-51. Timmons sank another three-ball at the 4:45 mark to again make it a one possession game before the Lions defense clamped down as the Trojans missed their final six shots  and the Lions finished the game on a 9-0 run with Murray scoring six points in the final 1:53 to seal a double digit win.
 
Green led the Trojans with 16 points and 14 rebounds while Timmons and Ebony Reynolds added nine points apiece.
 
Lincoln shot 60% in the fourth quarter and finished the game shooting 37% (20-54).  The Lions also shot 72% from the free throw line (18-25) and 32% from three point range (8-25).  LU finished the game with just nine turnovers while VSU committed 17.
 
Next up for the women's basketball team will be their opening round game at the CIAA Tournament.  The Lions will face the #6 seed from the South – St. Augustine's on Tuesday, February 26, 2019.  tip off is at 12:10 p.m.