Four players scored in double figures as the Lincoln University women's basketball team used an explosive third quarter to produce their biggest win of the season as they upset nationally ranked Virginia Union University in a big way, 76-46 Wednesday night at Manuel Rivero Hall.
The Lions, ranked #7 in the D2SIDA Atlantic Region poll, improve to 15-3 overall and 5-1 in Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) games, moving into first place in the conference Northern Division in the process. The Panthers, who entered the game as the top ranked team in the Atlantic Region and were ranked #5 in the WBCA Top Division II Coached poll and #9 in the D2SIDA top 25 poll fall to 12-2 overall and 4-1 in CIAA games.
Kwanza Murray (Summerville, S.C./Summerville (Lackawanna College)) and
DeAshia Young (Detroit, Mich./Detroit Public Safety Academy (Labette CC)) led all scorers with 22 points apiece.
Alisia Machado (Brooklyn, N.Y./Medgar Evars Prep (Grambling)) recorded her first double-double of the season with ten points and 16 rebounds while
Bryanna Brown (New York, N.Y./Bishop Loughlin (Nyack)) added 11 points. Young, the CIAA leader in assists, dished out eight dimes on the night to lead all players.
Murray also became the third player in program history to make 100 three-point baskets in their Lincoln career when connected on her first three point attempt, a shot from the right baseline 4:29 seconds into the game. She finished the game with three and moved into second place behind Courtney Smith (188 made 3's) with 102 and counting for her career.
The Lions held the lead for nearly the entire first half, leading by four after the first quarter and pushing their lead to 11 with a 7-0 run to close out the second quarter. It was in the third quarter however that the Lions offense exploded while their defense tightened, outscoring the Panthers 29-6 in the period. Leading 40-29, the Lions roared to a 25 point lead with a 14-0 run, with the first 12 points coming off VUU turnovers. Brown and Young started things off with back-to-back three balls and
Joy Morton (Lansdowne, Pa./Penn Wood (Harford C.C.)) followed with two quick baskets. Murray finished it off with a layup and then two free throws, making the score 54-29 with 3:39 left in the quarter. Lincoln closed out the quarter making six straight shots to take their biggest lead of the game at 67-33 heading into the fourth quarter.
The Panthers won the fourth quarter, outscoring the Lions 13-9 but never got closer than 29 points the rest of the way.
Jasmine Carter led the Panthers with nine points and six rebounds. Breonn Hughey had three assists.
The Lions shot 44.3% for the game while holding the Panthers to just 34% shooting. Lincoln allowed just three three-points field goals (a VUU season low) while making eight of their own. The Lions also outrebounded the Panthers 44-32 and committed four fewer turnovers. Lincoln scored a total of 40 points off Panther turnovers on the night.
The Lincoln women's basketball team returns to action on Saturday, January 18, 2020 when they travel to Orangeburg, South Carolina to face Claflin University in a CIAA cross division contest. Tipoff is at 2 p.m.
