BALTIMORE, Md. – The Lincoln University of Pennsylvania women's basketball program shook off a rusty first half in which they trailed by one, outscoring #7 Virginia State by 22 points over the final 20 minutes to punch its ticket into the CIAA Semifinals with a 78-57 victory.
 
CIAA Coach of the Year Janice Washington has yet to lose a game in the conference tournament, going 4-0 in Charm City during her two-year tenure and winning her last three CIAA contests by at least 15 points.

What You Need to Know:
 

• Score: #2 Lincoln (PA) 78 | #7 Virginia State 57

 

• Records: Lincoln-PA (19-8, 12-4 CIAA) | Virginia State (12-16, 7-9 CIAA)

 

• Location: Baltimore, Maryland – CFG Bank Arena

 

• Winning Streak: Lincoln-PA (W1) | Virginia State's Last Win: February 6, 2023 (66-64)

 
Lincoln (PA) Top Performers:
 

• All-CIAA Backcourt selection Kania Pollock (Queens, N.Y./The Mary Louis Academy) is doing everything in her power to keep her career going, recording three double-doubles in her past five contests with a career/game-best 13 rebounds to go along with 15 points. The senior from Queens, New York also logged a game-high five assists on top of seven buckets.

 

• Her 13 boards are tied for the most by a Lincoln lady in a game this season, matching Taylor Brown's (Waldorf, Md./Westlake) performance against Cheyney in December.

 

• All-CIAA Rookie Team honoree D'Ayzha Atkinson (Philadelphia, Pa./Neumann-Goretti) made a compelling argument that she should have been named Rookie of the Year, securing her first career double-double of her own with a season/contest-high 16 points plus ten rebounds. She also set new benchmarks in minutes played (31), field goals (8), and steals (3, game-most) while shooting 50% (8-of-16), all coming off the bench.

 

• Maya Madison Walker (Brooklyn, N.Y./Bishop Loughlin) was the third Lion in double-figures regarding both points and boards, joining Atkinson in the newly accomplished club. The redshirt sophomore out of Brooklyn, New York eclipsed career-highs for rebounds (12), assists (4), field goals (5) and minutes (33) to go along with 11 points plus a 5-for-10 shooting outing.

 

• While that wraps up the career and season-highs, the significant contributors list does not end there as Jaleesa Lanier (Easton, Pa./Bethlehem Catholic) put up 13 points and a trio of assists while Ciani Montgomery (Philadelphia, Pa./West Catholic Prep) plus Kayiona Willis (Detroit, Mich./Southfield Arts & Tech) contributed a six-pack each on the scoreboard.

 

• CIAA Defensive Player of the Year and All-CIAA Frontcourt winner Anyssa Fields (Long Branch, N.J./Long Branch) fell just shy of giving Lincoln four separate double-doubles, notching 11 boards (eight defensive) and nine points with three assists and a steal sprinkled in.

 
Notes:
 

• The women from Pennsylvania were suffocating on defense, allowing a 35.6% (21-of-59) field goal percentage and a 15.8% (3-for-19) three-point conversion rate as the former was the lowest against a CIAA opponent on the year.

 

• LU was simply ruthless on the glass, recording a mind-boggling +29 edge in the rebounding margin, manhandling the Trojans to a tune of 54 to 25, the second-largest disparity of the year.

 
Next:
 

• The Lions will get Thursday off to scout its next opponent, the winner of #6 Shaw vs. #3 Winston-Salem State, on Friday at 8 p.m. with a CIAA Championship berth on the line.