LINCOLN, PA – The Livingstone women's basketball team came away with a hard-fought victory Monday evening, 78-71 over the Concordia Clippers in the third game of the Lincoln University Invitational.
Senior guard Kayler McBride totaled 21 points and six rebounds for the game which coupled with her performance from Sunday earner her a place on the All-Tournament Team. Junior guard Montiya Harrison also added 20 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the field and also added seven rebounds.
The Blue Bears got off to a rough start against the Clippers going down 5-0 in the early moments of the contest. The deficit was short-lived as Livingstone got closer thanks to a three-pointer by McBride. Livingstone took a 6-5 lead and then the teams started trading three pointers each time down the court.
Livingstone led by six at 23-17 with 12 minutes to play in the half, but Concordia went on a 10-3 run to tie the game at 27-27. Livingstone went up by three behind another McBride trey, but was quickly followed by a Concordia 8-0 run to put the Clippers up 35-30. The Blue Bears trailed by six with just under three minutes on the clock, but went on a 8-2 run of their own to tie the game at 41-41. The teams traded baskets in final 33 seconds and the teams were tied at 43-43 at the half.
McBride led the Blue Bears in the first half with 16 points. Junior forward Cassaundra Rhodes, who was in foul trouble in the first half with three fouls was able to pull down four boards in eight minutes. Livingstone shot 33 percent from the field in the first half.
The two teams battled back and forth to start the second half with neither team able to gain much of an edge over the first 10 minutes. With 7:36 to play in the game, Livingstone found itself down four points and in a timeout. The Blue Bears brought solid pressure on the defensive end and were able to get to the free throw line on the offensive end. Livingstone knocked down six-straight free throws to take a 65-63 lead.
Concordia was also getting to the free throw line on their offensive side, but were not converting their free throw attempts. Trailing by three with just under five minutes left, junior guard Montiya Harrison hit a floater in the late and was fouled. Harrison converted the three-point play and tied the game at 68-68. A defensive stop by the Blue Bears led to another bucket by Harrison to put the Blue Bears up 70-68 and they never relinquished it. The Blue Bears converted three of four free throws in the final minute to seal the victory.
As a team the Blue Bears put up 80 shots for the game, connecting on 22 of them for a 27.5 shooting percentage. Livingstone pulled down 58 total rebounds to Concordia's 47.
Livingstone will now open up conference play Saturday, November 21 at 5:30 p.m. at home against Elizabeth City State.
