WBB falls to Mercyhurst

LINCOLN UNIVERSITY, PA - An 11-0 run in the early portion of the fourth quarter changed the momentum and the Lincoln University women's basketball team was unable to recover in falling 64-61 Tuesday to Mercyhurst in non-conference action at the Mercyhurst Athletic Center.

Leading by two following a three-point play by senior Skydajah Patterson (Bronx, N.Y./Bishop Loughlin) (Bronx, N.Y./Bishop Loughlin), Lincoln missed seven straight shots as the Lakers went on the game-changing run. However, the Lions wouldn't go away as they clawed back to within three.

Mercyhurst seemingly left the door slightly ajar with two missed free throws, but an offensive rebound with 3.4 seconds remaining sealed the game.

Patterson led way with 10 points on 4-of-11 shooting and eight rebounds, while senior Kryshell Gordy (Chester, Pa./Ursuline Academy (Del.)) (Chester, Pa./Ursuline Academy (Del.) added a team-high 10 boards. Senior Bryanna Brown (New York, N.Y./Bishop Loughlin) (New York, N.Y./Bishop Loughlin) and junior Kania Pollock (Queens, N.Y./The Mary Louis Academy) (Queens, N.Y./The Mary Louis Academy) added eight points each, while Brown also pulled down seven rebounds.

The Lakers came out shooting, making four of their first five three-pointers, and shooting 44 percent in the first half to lead after the first quarter. However, a 7-0 run early in the second quarter gave Lincoln a four-point lead with 5:36 remaining.

Unfortunately, MU scored the only bucket for the duration of the quarter. The Lions stout defense limited the home team to just four points in the quarter in taking the halftime lead.

Lincoln trailed for the majority of the third quarter, but by no more than four points, and trailed by one on a Patterson three-pointer with 10 seconds remaining.

The aforementioned run gave Mercyhurst a lead that would get to as much as 10, and it was 10 points with 92 seconds remaining. Back-to-back buckets had the LU deficit down to six points with 33 seconds remaining. Following a Lakers free throw, senior Joy Morton's (Yeadon, Pa./Penn Wood) (Yeadon, Pa./Penn Wood) three-point play cut the deficit to four points.

A pair of MU free throws pushed the lead to six, but a three pointer from Brown cut the lead in half with 13 seconds remaining. Two more Mercyhurst free throws kept the Lions at bay, but a Pollock three pointer with five seconds kept Lincoln breathing.

But an offensive rebound following a pair of missed free throws sealed the game.

Lincoln (0-2) and Mercyhurst (1-0) will play each other again 3 p.m. Wednesday.

Lincoln University, the nation’s first degree-granting Historically Black College and University (HBCU), educates and empowers students to lead their communities and change the world. Lincoln offers a rigorous liberal arts education to a diverse student body of approximately 2,200 men and women in more than 35 undergraduate and graduate programs.