ST. JOSEPH, Mo. - The Lincoln Blue Tigers dropped an 80-56 decision Tuesday night to the Missouri Western Griffons in the opening round of the MIAA Postseason Tournament.
Lincoln, which never led the game, trailed by just five points at 33-28 with 1:18 to go in the first half. But a pair of 3-pointers by Sarafina Handy gave Missouri Western a 39-28 advantage at intermission.
The Griffons then opened the second half with 7-0 run to stretch their lead to double digits. The Blue Tigers got to within 12 at 64-52 with 7:44 remaining on a pair of free throws by Kelsey Williams. But Missouri Western then scored the next 16 points to pull away.
Missouri Western, seeded seventh in the tournament, led by as many as 28 in the final minutes. Missouri Western shot 52.8 percent from the field to just 37 percent for Lincoln,
Williams led three Blue Tigers in double figures with 15 points. Lizzie Nessling added 11, while Hunter Yoakum chipped in with 10 for 10th-seeded Lincoln (12-14).
Ariana Novak totaled a game-high 18 points for Missouri Western (15-11). Handy added 17, while LaQuinta Jefferson finished with 16.
III
Earlier Tuesday, three Blue Tigers were honorable mention selections to the All-MIAA team.
Williams, Kate Frazier and Yoakum were selected in voting by conference coaches.
Williams, a sophomore, was second on the team in scoring at 12.1 points and in rebounding at 5.1. She also topped the team with 3.6 assists per contest. She scored in double-digits in 12 of Lincoln's final 13 games.
Frazier, a senior, was second in the conference in field-goal percentage (.569) and eighth in steals (1.6). She averaged 10.4 points per game.
Yoakum, a sophomore, finished fifth in the conference by averaging 2.1 3-pointers per game. She led Lincoln in scoring with 12.2 points per game.
Kate Lehman, a senior at Fort Hays State, was selected the Player of the Year and the Defensive Player of the Year.