Coming off a 59-57 win at Northeastern State on Saturday, the Lincoln women's basketball team will take on last place Northwest Missouri State (3-18, 1-14 Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association) at 5:30 p.m. today in Maryville.
The Blue Tigers beat Northeastern State with a Zuri Hill layup and a Sarah Neptune free throw in the final minute.
In the last meeting between Lincoln and Northwest Missouri on Dec. 18, Hill scored inside and the Bearcats missed a 3-pointer in the final seconds for the Blue Tigers to win 66-64 at Jason Gym.
Northwest has a 30-8 lead in the series.
Lincoln and Northwest are at the bottom of the MIAA in scoring margin, losing by an average of 12.2 and 10.7 points per game, respectively.
Tember Schechinger, a 5-foot-10 senior, leads the Bearcats with 12 points and 8.2 rebounds per game.
Tanya Meyer, a 5-foot-10 sophomore, averages 10.4 points per game. She's second on the team with 24 made 3s this season.
Former Jefferson City Lady Jay Shelby Mustain averages 5.8 points and 4.2 rebounds for the Bearcats.
III
The Lincoln men's basketball team has started off a four-game road trip with back-to-back losses to Central Oklahoma and Northeastern State.
The Blue Tigers return to Missouri with a game at No. 24 Northwest Missouri State (15-5, 12-3 MIAA) today. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m.
Northwest is riding a five-game winning streak to check back into the national rankings at No. 24 after being out of the top 25 last week.
The Bearcats lead the MIAA by one game ahead of Lindenwood. Lincoln is sixth at 8-7 in league play, just 11/2 games behind third-place Missouri Southern.
Northwest has a 40-30 lead in the series against Lincoln, but the Blue Tigers won the most recent matchup 79-74 on Dec. 18 at Jason Gym.
This matchup puts Lincoln's high-scoring offense (80.2) against Northwest's tough defense (66.6).
The Bearcats are second in the MIAA in scoring defense and lead the league in scoring margin (9.1).
Northwest's Justin Pitts is one of the all-around best players in the MIAA, averaging 21.1 points, 4.9 assists, 3.6 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game.
Conner Crooker averages nearly 13 points per game for the Bearcats and leads the team in 3-point percentage at 44.2 percent (42-of-95).