Skydajah Patterson (Bronx, N.Y./) came off the bench to score 19 points as the Lincoln University women's basketball team held off a late rally from St. Augustine's University to defeat the Falcons 70-61 Saturday afternoon at Emery Gymnasium in Raleigh, North Carolina.

The Lions improve to 14-3 with the win while the Falcons fall to 5-8.  The game was a designated non-conference game between the two teams.  The two teams will square off for their conference clash later this season at Lincoln.

Patterson connected on seven field goals (16 shots) sand was a perfect 5-5 en route to her 19 point performance.  The junior small forward also grabbed a team high seven rebounds.  DeAshia Young (Detroit, Mich./Detroit Public Safety Academy (Labette CC)) joined Patterson in double figures with ten points. (6-8 FT).  Young also had seven rebounds as did Kenzie Spencer (Richmond, Va./Henrico).  Young and Taylor King (Lorton, Va./Hayfield Secondary School) had two assists apiece. Bryanna Brown (New York, N.Y./Bishop Loughlin (Nyack)) and Shahra Madison (Chesapeake, Va./Norfolk Collegiate School (Chesapeake College)) each recorded a block.

Patterson scored 15 of her 19 points in the second half, including seven of the Lions first nine points in the third quarter fueling a 9-1 run that saw Lincoln take a 38-31 lead with 5:48 left.  The Falcons closed within one twice in the period before Joy Morton (Lansdowne, Pa./Penn Wood (Harford C.C.)) sank two free throws in the final seconds to give Lincoln a three-point lead 45-42 heading into the final quarter.

The Lions opened the fourth quarter with a 12-2 run to boost their lead to double digits, 57-44 with 5:55 left.  King started the run with a layup followed by two baskets by Patterson.  King added another layup  Madison a short mid-range jumper before Patterson capped the run with a pair of free throws.  

Lincoln still led by 11, 59-48 when the Falcons began to creep back into the game, scoring five straight points over a 40 second span to pull within six 59-53.  A sweet pass from Shantel Cheeks (Washington D.C./Rock Creek Christian Academy (Harcum College)) to Shakira Edwards (Newark, N.J./Bloomfield Tech) for a layup broke the run with 2:36 left.  The Lions added nine free throws over the final 2:21 to push the lead back to double figures before a three-pointer from SAU's Kaaliya Williams rounded out the scoring with the Lions coming away with the nine-point win.

Williams led the Falcons with 17 points while Milequa Eason and Angela Carabello added 12 and 11 respectively.  Jordyn Burton led all players with nine rebounds.

A total of 63 fouls were called in the contest, leading to 78 total free throws.  Lincoln made 29 of 38 attempts at the charity stripe (76.3%) while the Falcons shot just 55% (22-40).  Lincoln's 29 free throws are a season high and one shy of the school record 30 set against St. Paul's college back in 2011.  The Lions outrebounded the Falcons 57-44, including 21 on the offensive glass, leading to a 17-13 advantage in the second chance points category.  The Lions and the Falcons are also the top two teams in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) in forcing turnovers and they lived up to that designation with a total of 49 turnovers between the two teams. (26-LU; 23-SAU).

The Lions return home for their next game, taking on nationally ranked Virginia Union University on Wednesday, January 15, 2020.  Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m.