CHARLOTTE, North Carolina -- Persistence paid off for The Lincoln University women's basketball team on Monday afternoon in a 64-62 win over Winston-Salem State in the first round of the CIAA Tournament.
"We call ourselves a blue collar team. We will do whatever we have to do. It wasn't always pretty but we got the job done. They willed their way to the win tonight and I couldn't be prouder," stated Lincoln head coach Jessica Kern.
The Lady Rams entered the contest as the third seed out of the Southern Division with the Lady Lions as the sixth seed from the Northern Division. Lincoln advances to the second round on Wednesday and will take on Shaw University at 12:20pm. The Lady Rams end their season with a 15-12 overall record while the Lady Lions move to the next round with a 12-15 mark.
A.G. Hall of Winston-Salem State noted, "Today's game was a tale of two halves really. I thought we played pretty good defense in the first half but allowed them to make some easy shots in the second, and that proved to be devastating."
Zephrah Pam (Syracuse, NY/Monroe CC) led the Lady Lions with 15 points while Courtney Smith (Milwaukee, WI/Nicolet HS) and Cynthia Johnson (Baltimore, MD/Baltimore Polytechnic Institute) added 11 and 10 points respectively. Pam also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds (one offensive, seven defensive) Dionna Scott of Winston-Salem State led all players in the game with 19 points while Jasmine Elum added 16 points in the loss. Amanda Hairston hauled in a game-high nine rebounds (three offensive, six defensive).
Jasmine Elum started off the contest with a jumper for Winston-Salem State. Courtney Smith (Milwaukee, WI/Nicolet HS) drained two free throws for the Lady Lions to knot the score 2-2 within the first minute of play. The teams exchanged baskets until the 16:29 mark.
With the Lady Rams leading 8-6, Jovonah Graham's basket sparked an 8-2 run resulting in a 16-8 advantage for Winston-Salem State with 13:21 on the clock.
The Lady Lions remained resilient as they battled back to tie the score 17-17 with 10:25 left in the half using a layup from Pam. Elum's made free throws at the 9:36 mark returned the lead and the momentum to the Lady Rams.
With 5:59 on the clock, Morgan Smiley's bucket for the Lady Rams made the score 26-22 and led to a Lincoln stayed close on Winston-Salem's heels until Morgan Smiley's basket with 5:59 on the clock (and the score 24-22) led to a 7-0 run for the Lady Rams.
Winston-Salem State remained in control from that point forward and closed out the half with a 37-27 lead over the Lady Lions.
The Lady Rams started out the second half with an 8-2 run before a three pointer by Smith made it a 13 point game for Lincoln (45-32). Johnson capitalized on a steal and drained a three pointer at the 13:00 mark. Jailen Murphy (Nashville, TN/Brentwood Academy) followed with a layup to pull Lincoln within eight points (45-37).
Winston-Salem continued to build on the lead and pulled away 52-40 after Scott drained two free throws with 9:26 left in the game. Lincoln went to work at that point and used a 7-0 run to move within four points with 7:05 on the clock.
The Lady Lions and Lady Rams matched each other bucket for bucket until Amani Clark (Middletown, DE/Appoquinimink HS)'s three pointer and Johnson's free throw returned the momentum to Lincoln, forcing Winston-Salem to take a time out with just under two minutes left in the game.
Down 61-59, Pam's jumper tied the score. A Lady Lion foul led to Amanda Hairston draining a free throw and returning the lead to Winston-Salem. Pam netted two free throws of her own to give Lincoln the 63-62 lead, their first of the contest. Johnson added one additional free throw to propel the Lady Lions to the 64-62 win.
Box Score
COURTESY THE LINCOLN UNIVERSITY LIONS ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS
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