WILBERFORCE, OH. – The Lincoln University women’s basketball team tied the game up at the end of regulation and after two overtimes, Central State held on to defeat the Blue Tigers, 91-86, Sunday afternoon in the season opener for both teams.
Lincoln led throughout the first half, jumping out to a seven-point lead at 14-7 less than five minutes into the game following a tip-in by senior Ashley Norris. Norris had a huge game for Lincoln, leading all scorers with 32 points, going 15-for-20 from the floor, nine rebounds and one steal in 43 minutes.
After Central State trimmed the lead down to one, Lincoln jumped out to their largest lead of the first half, thanks to a three-pointer by freshman Terika Adams to expand the lead to 13 at 31-18 with 4:54 left to play before halftime.
The Blue Tigers took a 10-point lead into halftime and kept the lead near double-digits, including a 12-point lead with 5:36 left to play in the game after junior Cherakie Barrett tallied a layup in the paint.
Over the final five minutes and change left in the game, the Marauders closed the game on a 20-8 run to tie the game with just seconds to play and send the game into overtime.
The teams remained close in the first overtime, before the Blue Tigers were able to open a little breathing room with under 30 seconds to play. Sophomore Quenita Washington made a layup to give Lincoln a four-point spread at 76-72, but the Marauders refused to go away, tallying a jumper and after Barrett hit a free throw, Deshundra Gober barried a three-pointer as time expired to knot the game up again, this time at 77-all forcing the game into yet another overtime.
Central State controlled most of the second overtime, jumping out to an early three-point advantage, then expanding the lead to six with under two minutes to go in the second overtime after Brooklyn Morrow converted two free throws. Lincoln trimmed the lead down to two, as senior Liere Dancy tipped-in a missed free throw to make it 87-85 with under a minute to play. Central State then held on down the stretch, making a few free throws to hold off the Blue Tigers.
Around Norris’ huge game, four other Blue Tigers also posted double-digits in scoring, with Washington adding 18, Stacey Smith with 12 and Barrett, along with Adams each tallied 10 a piece. Barrett had a solid, all-around game to go along with her 10 points, she also added seven rebounds, seven assists and five steals, while playing the most minutes of any player with 48.
Gober and Morrow led the Marauders, as both players scored over 20 points, with Gober leading the way with 25 and Morrow adding 21.
Lincoln will return to action this Wednesday, November 18, when they welcome in Maryville to Jason Gym with tipoff set for 6 p.m. CST.