Bethlehem Catholic alumna Jaleesa Lanier got her first two women’s basketball starts as a freshman in early December for Lincoln University.

Although the Lions fell to Mercyhurst both times, Lanier labeled her first college semester the best four months of her life.

“The surroundings, the people, the environment- it’s super friendly,” Lanier said. “It’s also a predominantly African-American school, so meeting so many different people has been really interesting.”

Lanier’s first game took her back home in a broad sense when the Lions took on George Washington University and former Becahi teammate Neila Luma.

“It was weird not saying Hawks and without Coach Medina, but it was neat to play against Neila,” Lanier said. “I was nervous but not in a scared way. I haven’t played in a long time, so I wanted to be ready.”

Lanier got fouled and scored the first two points of her collegiate basketball career in that game, won by George Washington on Nov. 25.

“In the beginning [of the season], we had a lot of new players, including myself, so we were trying to figure out the chemistry,” she said.

Lanier explained that the Lions’ first six games were out-of-conference games, some against Division 1 schools, all on the road, and spectator-free.

“It helped us for conference play and made us battle more. It made us better, in general, as a Division II school,” Lanier said. “But it was very weird because we had to create energy ourselves. There were cardboard cutouts. It was so silent. It felt like a scrimmage.”

The Lions never saw conference play, however. On Dec. 15, the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association voted to cancel the women’s and men’s basketball seasons due to growing concerns related to COVID-19.

“Once we found out, we wanted to give our last game our all,” said Lanier. “The bench, the starters, I think we had the most chemistry in that game.”

That game, Lincoln University’s last of their shortened season, ended in a 72-55 victory over Delaware State University on Dec. 16. Lanier believes the deciding factor in that win was the energy the Lions brought to the Hornets.

Now at home in the Lehigh Valley, Lanier won’t return to campus until March 1 at the earliest.

“We’ll get our year back, so I’ll be a freshman again,” she said. “I think it’s cool since we didn’t experience any conference play.”