Lincoln Lions Turn Back UDC Firebirds for Second Win of Season

LINCOLN UNIVERSITY, Pennsylvania -- The Lincoln university women's basketball team placed three players in double figures as they jumped out to a big lead early and held off a late run to earn a 68-59 win over the University of the District of Columbia Wednesday night at Manuel Rivero Hall.

The Lions improve to 2-1 with the win, their first ever against the Firebirds. UDC falls to 1-2.

Shakira Edwards (Newark, N.J./Bloomfield Tech) and Deja Reynolds (Philadelphia, Pa./Imhotep Charter (Temple)) led the Lions with 14 points apiece while DeAshia Young (Detroit, Mich./Detroit Public Safety Academy (Labette CC)) added 13. Alisia Machado (Brooklyn, N.Y./Medgar Evars Prep (Grambling)), in her Lincoln debut grabbed 17 rebounds to lead all players. Reynolds, a transfer from Temple University and Machado, a Grambling transfer led the team with three steals apiece. Kenzie Spencer (Richmond, Va./Henrico) added two blocks.

The Firebirds were led by Mia-Alexis Lloyd's 18 points. Natasha Roy added 12 points while Danielle Harrington chipped in seven points and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.

The Lions scored the final 15 points of the first quarter to jump out to a 21-5 lead with 12 of their 21 points coming off UDC turnovers. Reynolds scored six points and Jamari Tillman (Louisville, Ky./Doss), making her collegiate debut added five points coming off the bench.

Lincoln increased the lead to 20 points midway through the second quarter, outscoring UDc8-4 in the first 4:30 for a 29-9 advantage. The firebirds still had some fire left in them as they slowly chipped away at the lead, cutting it to single digits just before the half. Taylor King's (Lorton, Va./Hayfield Academy) free throw in the final seconds of the quarter made the score 37-27 at halftime.

Five straight field goals to start the third quarter pushed the lions lead back up to 19 with an 11-2 spurt over the first 3:15 of the period. UDC rallied with nine straight points to close back within ten 48-38 before a layup from Spencer and two from Young gave the Lions a 15 point lead, 54-39 heading into the final period. Lincoln made eight of 11 shots from the field in the quarter (72.7%).

Young's layup early in the fourth quarter put the Lions back up by 18, 58-40 but the Firebirds rallied with a 12-1 uprising to close within seven 59-52 with 4:41 remaining. Young followed with a traditional three-point play and Edwards added a layup to push the lead back to 12, 64-52 with 2:55 remaining. After UDC again cut the margin to seven, Spencer was a perfect 4-4 from the free throw line over the final 1:21 to seal the win.

BOX SCORE

For the game the Lions shot 47.9% from the field (23-48) while UDC connected on just 22 of 65 shots (33.8%) from the field. Neither team shot extremely well from the free throw line with the Lions making 20 of 34 (58%) and UDC 11 of 22 (50%). The Lions held a 41-38 edge on the glass while UDC committed fewer turnovers (23 to 29).

Next up for the Lions will be another non-conference matchup, as Lincoln faces Jefferson University on Sunday, November 18, 2018 at 2 p.m. at Manuel Rivero Hall.

THE LINCOLN UNIVERSITY LIONS SPORTS INFORMATION