TOPEKA, Kan. - The Lincoln women's basketball team nearly completed a 17-point second half comeback, but Washburn made some big shots late to hold off the Blue Tigers, 79-73, on Thursday night (Jan. 31).

Bre Coleman led all scorers with 28 points and had a team-high eight rebounds to go with two assists and a steal. Zhanesha Dickerson added 27 points, six boards and a pair of takeaways while Kaloni Pryear finished with 11 points, six rebounds and three assists.

Lincoln (9-10, 1-9 MIAA) out-scored Washburn (14-5, 9-1 MIAA), 43-38, in the second half after a big second quarter gave WU an 11-point lead at the break. The Blue Tigers had an 18-13 lead after the first quarter, but Washburn out-scored LU, 28-12, over the next 10 minutes. At one point the Ichabods held a 47-30 lead, but Lincoln fought back to close the gap down to nine at the end of the third.

A big fourth quarter allowed Lincoln to cut the deficit down to 67-66 with 2:25 to play, but back-to-back three-pointers from Washburn gave the Ichabods back control of the game. Dickerson hit a trey to get LU back within four, but Lincoln had two trey attempts go in and out of the basket in the waning seconds as WU escaped with the win.

Washburn shot .500 from the floor and .379 from three-point range while the Blue Tigers shot .400 overall and .389 from three-point land. LU forced WU into 15 turnovers, creating nine steals.

Alecia Gulledge led the Blue Tigers with four steals and contributed five points, four boards and two assists. Zoi Thompson provided two points, three rebounds, a pair of assists and a steal off the bench, and Kiara Shoulders added six rebounds and three assists.

Lincoln will remain on the road on Saturday (Feb. 2), playing Emporia State in Emporia, Kan. at 1:30 p.m. CST.