By: Reshawn Garnett, VSU Sports Information Intern

Da'Shae Jones

The Trojans outmuscled the Lady Lions, collecting 46 rebounds to 28, in a 72-51 win for Virginia State over Lincoln on Saturday, February 2nd in Petersburg, VA. Da’Shae Jones hit four shots from three-point land, scoring a game-high 17 points with five assists.

In the Trojans previous two match ups, they’ve allowed the opposing team to build a double-digit lead in the first 20 minutes of play. Not this time! Virginia State got off to an early lead sparked by Kiara Walton. Walton slashed to the basket, scoring VSU’s first points of the game. She worked the ball inside and fought for rebounds in the first half. Kiara grabbed six at the end of one half and added six points, along with Jasmine Stewart. VSU’s Da’Shea Jones led all scorers with eight points at the end of the first half. The Trojans worked the ball inside the paint instead of settling for outside shots. The Trojans only took four shots from the three-point range. Moreover, the Trojans shot about 41% from the field and 60% from the free-throw line before heading into the half with a 36-23 advantage.

The Trojans outrebounded the Lady Lions 29-19 at the end of the first half of play. The Trojans played physical defense, only allowing the Lady Lions to six made shots from the field.

The Trojans’ dominance carried over into the second half with Da’Shea Jones knocking down a three-pointer on VSU’s opening possession. Jones scored a game-high 17 points after eight first half points. The Trojans were on the back end of a lot of foul calls. VSU was called for a total of 27 personal fouls, giving the Lady Lions 34 free-throw opportunities. Good thing for the Trojans that Lincoln went 15 for 34 from the free-throw line as the Trojans knocked off the Lady Lions 72-51.

Two more Trojans hit double-figure scoring; Yashica Blankney and Alexandria Massado finished with 14 points each. The Trojans’ glass-eating mentality continued as the Trojans outrebounded the Lions 46-28. Lamesha Deal recorded 12 rebounds while Kiara Walton and Alexandria Massado had six each. The Trojans shot a little under 50% and held the Lions to 34% shooting from the field. With this win, the Trojans improve to 3-8 in league play and are 10-11 overall.

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Trojans Suffer 64-55 Loss to Lincoln

By: Reshawn Garnett, VSU Sports Information Intern

John Holleman led the Trojans, scoring 15 points, but the visiting Lions of Lincoln University handed VSU a tough 64-55 loss at home on Saturday, February 2nd.

The first half was physical and intense for both teams. The Trojans had trouble controlling the ball and turnovers tend to take away from a teams’ confidence. So the Trojans struggled early from the field and ended up shooting 37% from the field. Kenny Mitchell netted six of his 11 points in the first half. John Holleman led all Trojans with nine points at the end of the first half. The Trojans finally took their first lead of the game at 14-12 after a Kenny Mitchell inside score with 7:25 to go.

The Trojans really had a hard time taking care of the ball finishing the first half. The Trojans accumulated lots of turnovers early and by the 7:54 mark they already gathered seven. The Trojans managed to cut down on turnovers however. They ended up with eight by the break. The Trojans struggled from beyond the arch. VSU shot an uncharacteristic 0-9 from three. Despite the Trojans’ struggles, they still managed to play tough defense to keep the game tight at the end of one. VSU would head into the break trailing by a slim one point margin (24-23).

VSU continued to be plagued by turnovers in the opening minutes of the second half allowing Lincoln to create a 28-23 lead. The Trojans tacked on eight more turnovers by the end of regulation. VSU cut the Lincoln advantage down to one possession over three times but could never overtake the Lions. The Trojans suffered a 64-55 fall at the hands of the visiting Lincoln University Lions. The Trojans’ shooting did improve a little, however they still shot in the lower 40%.

Kenny Mitchell grabbed a game-high nine rebounds and added 11 points for Virginia State. John Holleman led the Trojans scoring 15 points, and James Vann added 11 points from the VSU bench.