Box Score
SALISBURY, NC – The Livingstone women's basketball team scored a school-record 76 points in the second half Monday evening to rout the Lincoln University Lions 112-65.
The 112 points scored by the Blue Bears is second in women's basketball history at Livingstone behind a home contest against Elizabeth City State on February 7, 2006 where they scored 113 points. The Blue Bears also tied records of field goals made with 42 and shooting percentage of .568. Additionally the Blue Bears set a record with 24 assists and tied a record with 24 steals.
Junior forward Cassaundra Rhodes had a career-high 23 points in the victory and also grabbed five rebounds. Senior guard Kayler McBride also added 22 points while freshman guard Khalia Boston had a career-high 19 points. Freshman forward Shaniquia Alston had a career-high in points and rebounds as she scored 10 points and grabbed eight boards.
The Blue Bears, with a revamped starting lineup got out to a hot start against the Lions, jumping out to a 9-0 lead less than four minutes into the contest. Lincoln battled back, however, going on a 14-4 run to gain the first lead of the game 14-13 with 13:25 left in the first half.
The Lion run didn't deter the Blue Bears as, with the score tied at 19-19, they went on a 10-0 run of their own to grab a 29-19 lead with 8:28 on the clock. Lincoln slowly chipped away at the Blue Bear lead and had the deficit down to only one with 2:12 left in the half. With 54 seconds remaining before halftime the Lions regained the lead 37-36 and took a two-point edge into the locker room.
Kayler McBride and Khalia Boston both led the Blue Bears with 10 points each while Cassaundra Rhodes added eight points in the first half of play.
Lincoln continued to lead through the first two minutes, but then Livingstone grabbed control. With 17:28 on the clock the Blue Bears grabbed a 43-42 lead after a three-point play by Rhodes, a lead then did not relinquish. The Blue Bear lead was up to 10 with 15:20 on the clock and continued to grow.
Livingstone's lead grew to 21 points with 10:37 remaining in the game and didn't stop. Each time the Blue Bears scored, the Lions either turned the ball over or the Blue Bears grabbed a board. With 7:35 remaining the Blue Bear lead stood at 30 and climbed to 40 with just over four minutes to play. The Blue Bears hit the century mark with 4:04 to play.
As a team the Blue Bears shot 56.8 percent from the field on 42-of-74 shooting. Livingstone hit six of their 20 three-point attempts and 22 of their 31 free-throw attempts. The Blue Bears won the battle on the boards 39-29 and the turnover contest 38-18. Off of the 38 Lion turnovers, the Blue Bears scored 50 points. The Blue Bears also got a great contribution from the players on the bench to the tune of 65 points.
With the victory the Blue Bears improved to 5-8 overall and Lincoln fell to 2-12. The game did not count as a conference game due to Lincoln still being in the transition phase.
The Livingstone women will step out of conference play on Wednesday as they travel to Allen University in Columbia, SC. Game time is set for 5:30 p.m.
