JEFFERSON CITY, MO. – Following a slow start, the Lincoln University women’s basketball team stormed back and kept the Rattlers at bay enough to win going away, 71-56, Saturday afternoon in Heartland Conference action inside Jason Gym.
St. Mary’s (15-6, 7-2 HC) scored the first five points of the game and held the lead for the first three minutes until the Blue Tigers (8-10, 3-6 HC) gained their first advantage at the 16:52 mark on a three-pointer by sophomore Quenita Washington making it 8-7.
After another Washington layup put Lincoln back in the lead a minute later, the Blue Tigers rode the momentum over the next four minutes going on an 11-0 run that concluded with a jumper by freshman Terika Adams at the 12:09 mark giving Lincoln the 21-11 lead.
St. Mary’s fought back, regaining the lead at the 2:07 mark on a jumper from Liz Boyd giving the Rattlers the slim 27-26 advantage. During the Rattlers’ run to catch the Blue Tigers, they held Lincoln without a field goal and any points at all for over seven minutes.
Lincoln regained momentum before halftime, closing on a 7-0 run capped by a trey from Washington right before the halftime buzzer giving the Blue Tigers a 33-27 lead at the break.
The game remained very tight throughout most of the second half, as after the Rattlers trimmed the Lincoln lead to two, 39-37, at the 14:45 mark, nearly three minutes would run off the clock before the next points showed up on the board, as senior Stacey Smith ended the long drought with a jumper to boost the Blue Tiger lead to four.
A layup by senior Ashley Norris at the 6:30 mark gave the Blue Tigers a 13-point lead and from the point on, the Rattlers were forced to foul, in which Lincoln would run the lead up to their highest of the night of 15 with just 32 seconds left after junior Cherakie Barrett delivered two free throws.
Barrett poured in a season-high 20 points to lead the Blue Tigers and all-scorers. Norris wasn’t far behind, as she added 19 points, as Smith and Washington also found their way to double-digits, with Smith posting 17 and Washington with 10.
Lincoln also rebounded from the field, shooting nearly 46 percent, going 22-for-48 (45.8), while the defense held St. Mary’s in check, as the Rattlers went just 21-for-63 (33.3) from the field.
The Blue Tigers also wore out the charity stripe, as they took 11 more shots at the free throw line than the Rattlers, as Lincoln went 22-for-29 (75.9), while St. Mary’s went 11-for-18 (61.1).
With the win, the Blue Tigers moved into a tie for fourth in the Heartland Conference with Newman, as the top six teams qualify for the regular season ending conference tournament.
Lincoln will be back in action Thursday, Feb. 4 on the road at Heartland Conference foe St. Edward’s with tipoff set for 5:30 p.m.
St. Mary's (Texas) vs Lincoln
01/30/10 2:00 at Jefferson City, MO
At Jefferson City, MO
LINCOLN 71, ST. MARY'S (TEXAS) 56
ST. MARY'S (TEXAS) (15-6, 7-2 HC)
Kristen Williams 6-15 5-10 17; DeAnna Patterson 5-9 0-0 13; Liz Boyd 6-19
0-0 12; Mareta Bailey 4-7 4-6 12; Felicia Jacobs 0-5 2-2 2; Amber Sophus 0-2
0-0 0; Nicole James 0-3 0-0 0; Mallory Moeller 0-2 0-0 0; Chastity Noble 0-1
0-0 0. Totals 21-63 11-18 56.
LINCOLN (8-10, 3-6 HC)
Barrett, Cherakie 4-8 12-16 20; Norris, Ashley 8-11 3-3 19; Smith, Stacey
6-11 2-3 17; Washington, Quenita 3-12 2-3 10; Adams, Terika 1-3 2-2 4;
Thomas, Cara 0-0 1-2 1; Campbell, Paris 0-2 0-0 0; Dancy, Liere 0-1 0-0 0.
Totals 22-48 22-29 71.
St. Mary's (Texas)............ 27 29 - 56
Lincoln....................... 33 38 - 71
3-point goals--St. Mary's (Texas) 3-19 (DeAnna Patterson 3-6; Liz Boyd 0-4;
Mareta Bailey 0-1; Felicia Jacobs 0-2; Nicole James 0-3; Mallory Moeller
0-1; Chastity Noble 0-1; Kristen Williams 0-1), Lincoln 5-16 (Smith, Stacey
3-6; Washington, Quenita 2-9; Dancy, Liere 0-1). Fouled out--St. Mary's
(Texas)-Nicole James; Amber Sophus, Lincoln-None. Rebounds--St. Mary's
(Texas) 33 (Kristen Williams 14), Lincoln 37 (Norris, Ashley 8).
Assists--St. Mary's (Texas) 3 (Nicole James 2), Lincoln 10 (Barrett,
Cherakie 3; Dancy, Liere 3). Total fouls--St. Mary's (Texas) 25, Lincoln 14.
Technical fouls--St. Mary's (Texas)-None, Lincoln-None. A-145