Charlotte, NC – Shaw University started fast and used a combination of hot shooting and smothering defense to jump out to a double-figure lead over the lower-seeded Lincoln Lions on Tuesday in a first round game.
For Shaw, the Bears were led by LaQuisha Taylor, who dropped 12 first half points and added six rebounds. Bianca Maxwell chipped in six points and pulled down seven rebounds. Raquel Kellow also added six points.
It was all Shaw Bears in the first quarter, as SU jumped out to an 28-8 first quarter lead, the largest Shaw lead of the first half.
The second quarter, was just the opposite, as Lincoln closed the gap with a 21-8 quarter of their own.
In the third quarter, Shaw came out of halftime in control of the game and looked to put it away. However, the Lincoln Lions came out of the locker room inspired and played hard in the quarter.
The Shaw Bears maintained their lead throughout the first minutes of the quarter, but Lincoln rallied behind the inside scoring of Deh’jah Taylor and the outside shooting of She’cquan Bailey and Kholby Oliver to cut the Shaw lead to just one point at the 5:43 mark of the third quarter.
The scoring would go back and forth between the two teams, but Shaw’s Imani Heggins would find an opening with a jumper at the buzzer to give Shaw a 48-47 advantage heading into the final quarter.
The fourth quarter began with Lincoln holding a one-point lead and the Lions would use a 13-6 run to jump out to a 62-54 lead with 4:45 remaining.
The Shaw Bears would scratch and claw their way back into the game and eventually got the deficit down to just 2 points with 1:06 remaining in the game.
In the final minute of the game, Lincoln’s Teira Pendleton was at the line for the Lions, but missed two free throws, still giving the Shaw Bears life.
Shaw would get a jumper from Raquel Kellow, but it went off wide, and Lincoln got the rebound and would be fouled.
Lincoln’s She’cquan Bailey sealed the game, going one-of-two from the free throw line, with under a second left, to give the #5 Lincoln Lions the upset win over #4 Shaw University, 65-62.
For the game, Lincoln was led by Shec’quan Bailey, who scored a game-high 19 points, eight rebounds and four steals. De’jah Taylor, finished with 15 points and eight rebounds, while Ashey Paynes-Hightower finished with 12 points and six rebounds.
For Shaw University, the Bears were led by LaQuisha Taylor who scored 17 points, had nine rebounds, and three steals. Bianca Maxwell added 16 points and a game-high 13 rebounds, and Imani Heggins chipped in 11 points and had five rebounds.
Lincoln outscored Shaw in the paint, 32-28, and outscored them in bench points, 22-19.
The game featured one tie, and seven lead changes throughout the contest.
Courtesy: CIAA
