It wasn't the outcome the Lincoln women's basketball team was hoping for.
But the Blue Tigers were able to find some positives Saturday following their 61-53 Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association loss to Fort Hays State at Jason Gym.
"It's good for us to fight," Lincoln junior Kayton Cole said. "We haven't fought that hard in a while."
Admittedly, the Blue Tigers didn't put forward their best effort during back-to-back lop-sided losses to top-ranked Emporia State and fifth-ranked Pittsburg State last week.
That wasn't the case in their most recent matchup.
"You don't get beat by 40 if you're playing hard the whole time," Lincoln head coach Nicole Collier said. "I thought we fought hard today. We've got to hold on, we've got to continue to fight and have confidence in ourselves."
Lincoln (6-7, 1-6 MIAA) led Fort Hays State (14-1, 8-0) by one with 7:29 to play, but the Blue Tigers went 5:52 without a basket as the Tigers built a nine-point cushion with a 10-0 run to take control and claim their 13th straight win.
"That's a really good team," Lincoln sophomore Hunter Yoakum said. "We were with them the entire game. There are a lot of positives to look at. I feel like if we keep working hard, good things are going to happen.
"It gives you hope. We know we can be better than what we've been playing."
Yoakum finished with a game-high 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting, including 4-of-6 from the 3-point line, and Cole added 15 to lead a Lincoln offense that shot 29 percent (21-of-72) from the field.
Kate Lehman, a 6-foot-4 center who averages 21.1 points, finished with 11 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks while Keriann Shaw added 14 points and 13 boards to lead Fort Hays State, which shot 33 percent (21-of-64) from the field.
The Tigers were 17-of-23 from the free-throw line, while Lincoln just hit 3-of-4 from the charity stripe. The Blue Tigers also committed 15 turnovers, compared to 12 by Fort Hays State.
"We struggled offensively," Collier said. "You have (a 6-foot-4 player) inside and you can't take anything in. You have to rely on your outside shooting. When fatigue becomes an issue, some shots fall short that we normally knock down."
Lincoln got off to a slow start, but the Blue Tigers responded with an 11-2 run to take a three-point lead with 15:04 left in the first half.
Fort Hays State controlled the next seven minutes by going on a 10-0 surge, but Lincoln punched back again with a 9-1 run to tie the game at 20 with 5:29 left before halftime.
"We played well," Cole said. "We broke down some, but we battled. We fought the whole game."
The Tigers entered the break with a 29-25 lead, but the Blue Tigers opened up the second half with an 8-0 run to take a 33-29 advantage with 17:33 to play.
Lincoln led by as many as four with 13:15 to play in the second half and controlled the next six minutes before the Lions, who haven't lost since Nov. 15, rallied in the final seven minutes.
"I felt like we got tired late," Yoakum said. "I feel like that's the main thing."
Lincoln will have a week to regroup before taking on MIAA foe Missouri Southern at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Jason Gym.
"I think we'll continue to fight," Cole said. "It was encouraging to see each other pick each other up and see each other fight today."