By Mia Berry
When the No. 1 Lincoln (Pennsylvania) women’s basketball team arrived at Royal Farms Arena for its opening round matchup in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Tournament, they wanted to make a statement.
The Lions abandoned their traditional orange and blue warm-up shirts for a black T-shirt featuring a picture of former All-CIAA backcourt honoree DeAshia Young, who died Feb. 5 of an unknown cause in Detroit. The back of the shirt read #Allfor1 in white block letters, a tribute to Young’s jersey number. It also was inspiration for their performance during the tournament they dedicated in her memory.
The Lions ended the week by defeating No. 2 Elizabeth City State 67-52 for the team’s first CIAA Tournament title.
Young was the team’s second-leading scorer on the 2019-20 team that set a program record with 23 regular-season wins. That team lost in the second round of the CIAA Tournament to Winston-Salem State, but throughout this week’s tournament Young’s No. 1 jersey rested in a frame on the bench alongside the team.
“When you decide that you’re going to honor someone, you have to do it in the best way possible, you can’t halfway do it, you have to go all-out,” said Lincoln head coach Janice Washington. “I did not get to coach [DeAshia], but to hear the stories from [assistant coach Cherelle] Dennis, [Bryanna] Brown and Joy Morton, Shakira Edward, and some of the girls on our current roster that got to play and be around DeAshia a long time, you know that this is a fiery kid who literally put everything she had on the court.”
Bryanna Brown, who is one of six Lincoln players to have played with Young, and this season’s CIAA Player of the Year, fueled the team to the championship victory. Following a slow start, Brown scored 12 out of the Lions’ 16 points in the first quarter to give the Lions their first lead of the game. Throughout the game, whenever the Lions needed a basket, Brown was the Lions’ primary answer, either through a basket or an assist. Brown, a fifth-year senior, carved up the Elizabeth City defense to finish the contest with 28 points and earned game MVP honors.
“I mean, the feeling and idea that I basically had in the second half was to finish what we started as a group,” Brown said. “I knew I had to play with my team, but, you know, also put them on my back and do what I do best, which is getting to the free throw line and finishing at the basket or even shooting the 3. So that’s basically what was my energy going into the second half.”
The Lions ended the week by defeating No. 2 Elizabeth City State 67-52 for the team’s first CIAA Tournament title.
Young was the team’s second-leading scorer on the 2019-20 team that set a program record with 23 regular-season wins. That team lost in the second round of the CIAA Tournament to Winston-Salem State, but throughout this week’s tournament Young’s No. 1 jersey rested in a frame on the bench alongside the team.
“When you decide that you’re going to honor someone, you have to do it in the best way possible, you can’t halfway do it, you have to go all-out,” said Lincoln head coach Janice Washington. “I did not get to coach [DeAshia], but to hear the stories from [assistant coach Cherelle] Dennis, [Bryanna] Brown and Joy Morton, Shakira Edward, and some of the girls on our current roster that got to play and be around DeAshia a long time, you know that this is a fiery kid who literally put everything she had on the court.”
Bryanna Brown, who is one of six Lincoln players to have played with Young, and this season’s CIAA Player of the Year, fueled the team to the championship victory. Following a slow start, Brown scored 12 out of the Lions’ 16 points in the first quarter to give the Lions their first lead of the game. Throughout the game, whenever the Lions needed a basket, Brown was the Lions’ primary answer, either through a basket or an assist. Brown, a fifth-year senior, carved up the Elizabeth City defense to finish the contest with 28 points and earned game MVP honors.
“I mean, the feeling and idea that I basically had in the second half was to finish what we started as a group,” Brown said. “I knew I had to play with my team, but, you know, also put them on my back and do what I do best, which is getting to the free throw line and finishing at the basket or even shooting the 3. So that’s basically what was my energy going into the second half.”
