HAYS, Kan. - There was no upset postseason win for Lincoln this year.
As the No. 7 seed in 2012, the Blue Tigers defeated No. 2 seed Pittsburg State 83-77 in the quarterfinals of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association Tournament before losing to Emporia State in the semifinals.
On Tuesday night, the 11th-seeded Blue Tigers dropped a 70-57 decision to sixth-seeded Fort Hays State in the opening round.
Fort Hays State opened the game with 13 straight points in the first five minutes. Lincoln didn't get on the scoreboard until Arriana Walker hit a layup with 15:07 to go in the opening half.
Fort Hays State eventually took an 18-point lead at 30-12 on a 3-pointer from Traci Keyser with 5:58 remaining before halftime.
A late run got Lincoln to within 39-28 at halftime.
The Blue Tigers cut the lead to 39-30 with a bucket from Jackeya Mitchell with 19:13 to go in the game. The Blue Tigers even got within seven points at 41-34 on a jumper from Dahlia Booker with 16:06 left.
That's as close as Lincoln would get, as Fort Hays State used a 13-2 run to take a 54-36 advantage. The biggest lead for the Tigers came at 63-44 with 7:30 remaining on a conventional three-point play from Kate Lehman.
Walker closed out her Lincoln career with a 22-point effort on 8-of-15 shooting. She connected on 4-of-8 attempts from 3-point range, grabbed six rebounds and dished out six assists.
Quiessence Price added 15 points for the Blue Tigers on 6-of-10 shooting.
Fort Hays State's Lehman tossed in 22 points of her own on 9-of-13 shooting with seven rebounds and five blocked shots. Katelyn Edwards added 13 points and a game-high 14 rebounds.
Fort Hays State (21-6) advances to the MIAA Tournament quarterfinals, where it will take on third-seeded Northeastern State on Friday at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City.
Lincoln ends its season at 11-16.