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| Zephrah Pam Photo Courtesy The LU Athletics |
This marks the first ever win over a Division I opponent for any women's basketball team at The Lincoln University. In her third season as Head Coach of the Lions, Jessica Kerns guided her team to their greatest win in program history.
The Lions knocked down four three-pointers in the opening half against the Lady Bears. Courtney Smith (Milwaukee, WI/Nicolet HS) knocked down three shots from long range in the first half to lead the Lions with nine points. Zephrah Pam (Syracuse, NY/Monroe CC) made 5-of-9 from the free-throw line, grabbed five rebounds, and also had nine points in the first half of play against Morgan State.
Lincoln forced Morgan State into 11 early turnovers. The Lions remained close despite trailing by as many as 15 points, but 11 offensive rebounds gave them ample scoring opportunities. Morgan State was 54% from the field and held Lincoln to 38% shooting. The Lady Bears led at the half 52-38.
Morgan State extended their lead to twenty points early in the second half. Then, at the 16:50 mark in the second half the Lions finally cut into the Lady Bears lead.
The Lions defense sparked a Lincoln 24-3 run in a ten minute span. Lincoln held Morgan State to 19% shooting in the second half and out-rebounded the Bears 35-17. De'jah Taylor (Nanuet, NY/Paramus Catholic Regional) had six offensive rebounds while both Amani Clark (Middletown, DE/Appoquinimink HS) and Zephrah Pam (Syracuse, NY/Monroe CC) had six defensive rebounds each. Pam carried the offense with 13 points in the second half, nailing 4-7 shots from the field and 5-8 made free-throws. The Lions had an 18-5 advantage on second chance points and controlled momentum with 28 points in the paint while Morgan State had 10.
Defensively, Amani Clark (Middletown, DE/Appoquinimink HS) and Alaysia Washington (Washington, DC/Friendship Collegiate Academy) played aggressively holding Morgan State's Tracey Carrington to only 11 points in the second half on 1-7 shooting from the field after Carrington exploded for 23 points in the first half. Clark led the charge with four steals in the second half.
Lincoln's Jailen Murphy (Nashville, TN/Brentwood Academy) scored a layup that gave the Lions a 76-72 lead with three minutes left in the half. Morgan State reclaimed the lead in the final two minutes and went ahead 80-76 with 1:39 remaining. Down the stretch, the Lions found Zephrah Pam (Syracuse, NY/Monroe CC) for three key scores including the game-tying basket with four seconds left forcing overtime.
In overtime, Zephrah Pam (Syracuse, NY/Monroe CC) continued her career-night nailing all three of her shots from the field. Cynthia Johnson (Baltimore, MD/Baltimore Polytechnic Institute) added five points for the Lions while Morgan State struggled offensively and went 2-6 from the field. Lincoln's Courtney Smith (Milwaukee, WI/Nicolet HS) sealed the victory with a free-throw pushing the lead to eight points with 29 seconds remaining.
Then, the faithful Lion fans went wild behind their beloved team's bench cheering on The Lincoln University in the final seconds of the game.
The Lincoln University rallied from a twenty point deficit in the second half to a 94-86 victory in their season opener against Morgan State University.
Three players scored in double figures for the Lions. Zephrah Pam (Syracuse, NY/Monroe CC) had a career-high 28 points with 15 rebounds. Cynthia Johnson (Baltimore, MD/Baltimore Polytechnic Institute) finished with 18 points, six rebounds, and a team-high three assists. Courtney Johnson had 12 points including three made three-pointers.
The Lions bench outscored the Morgan State's bench 43-17. De'jah Taylor (Nanuet, NY/Paramus Catholic Regional), Amani Clark (Middletown, DE/Appoquinimink HS), and Jailen Murphy (Nashville, TN/Brentwood Academy) each had eight points while Lisa Saunders (Hampton, VA/Hampton HS) added seven points.
Lincoln dominated the interior with 63 total rebounds including 31 offensive boards. De'jah Taylor (Nanuet, NY/Paramus Catholic Regional) grabbed ten total rebounds (nine offensive) while Zephrah Pam (Syracuse, NY/Monroe CC) had 15 total rebounds (six offensive).
The Lions improve to 1-0 and will travel to Philadelphia, PA on Tuesday, November 19th for a 6 p.m. matchup against the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia. For more information on the Lions please visit www.lulions.com.
Box Score
THE LINCOLN UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS
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