BOWIE, Md. – Bowie State University women's basketball tied their season low 28 percent field goal shooting and suffered its first CIAA home loss of the year, falling 55-46 to Lincoln University of Pennsylvania on Wednesday evening in packed A.C. Jordan Arena. The 46 points were the second lowest point total of the season for the Bulldogs.
 
Junior Lea Whitehead (Odenton, Md.) came off the Bulldogs bench to record a career-high 10 points in the setback. Seniors Ty-Nita Baker (Houston, Miss.) and Kyah Proctor (Capital Heights, Md.) finished with nine and six points respectively and graduate student Sade Chatman (Minneapolis, Minn.) accounted for six points. Proctor was the teams leading rebounder with seven.
 
Senior Kiara Colston (Burtonsville, Md.) ended the evening with five points while four other Bowie State players accounted for two points each for Bowie State (14-7, 7-5 CIAA, 2-4 North).
 
Michelle Fitzgerald (Baltimore, Md.) recorded a game-high double-double of 13 points and 17 rebounds to pace the Lincoln (Pa.) Lady Lions. Teira Pendleton (Baltimore, Md.) added 11 points while Shahra Madison (Chesapeake, Va.) scored ten points and grabbed nine rebounds.
 
Lincoln (Pa.) (14-7, 8-4 CIAA, 3-3 North) complete a regular season series sweep of the Bulldogs with the win, marking the third time in the last four seasons that Lincoln has recorded the season sweep. 
 
The two teams felt each other out over the first 4:29 with four ties and two lead changes.  Following the media timeout, the Lions went on a 9-0 run to take control of the game and led 17-8 with 2:29 left in quarter.  Madison had five of the nine points during the run with Fitzgerald and Pendleton adding two apiece.  The Bulldogs scored the final four points of the opening quarter to pull within five 12-7 heading into the second quarter.
 
The Lions pushed the lead to double digits in the second quarter, using an 11-2 flourish to take a 28-14 lead with 2:05 left, getting production from five different players.  Pendleton started the scoring with a layup and after a bucket from BSU's Baker, Lincoln got field goals from Ashley Paynes-Hightower (Peoria, Ill.), Diamond Mickle (Fredericksburg, Va.) and a three-point basket from DeeDee Irwin (Coatesville, Pa.).  Madison completed the run with two free throws.  The Bulldogs shaved three points off the lead by halftime with the Lions holding a 30-19 lead at the break.
 
Two quick baskets by the Bulldogs cut the lead to seven 30-23 before Irwin's second three-ball of the night pushed the lead back to ten 33-23.  The lead oscillated between eight and 13 points the rest of the period with the Lions holding a 40-29 advantage after three quarters.
 
Mickle's two free throws put Lincoln up by 13 early in the fourth quarter before the Bulldogs climbed back into the contest with a 13-3 run, cutting the Lions lead to three 45-42 with 3:39 remaining.  The two teams exchanged points over the next minute before Irwin put the Lions up by five with a pair of free throws and Pendleton added another from the charity stripe to make the score 50-44 with 1:19 left. 
 
A Whitehead end-line jumper on Bowie State's next possession trim the Bulldogs deficit to four (50-46) but that would be the closest the home team would get.
 
The Bulldogs return to action on Saturday (February 10th), hosting the nationally ranked Virginia Union University Lady Panthers at 1 p.m.