ST. JOSEPH, Mo. - The Lincoln University women hung with the nation's ninth-ranked team for a quarter of basketball, but the Missouri Western Griffons proved to be too much in the final three periods.
Lincoln and Missouri Western were tied at 14 after the first 10 minutes, but Western had a 68-37 edge after that and won 82-51 on Saturday.
Missouri Western (21-2 overall, 15-2 Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association) used a 26-11 edge in the second quarter to take a 40-25 lead into the locker room.
The Griffons then posted a 20-15 edge in the third quarter and a 22-11 advantage in the fourth to cruise to the victory.
Lincoln (8-15, 4-13) took the lead twice in the early going, with its largest edge being 12-9 when Dorian Briggs hit two free throws with 3:01 left in the first quarter.
Missouri Western's largest lead was the final margin.
The Griffons, who had a 41-30 edge in rebounding, also outshot the Blue Tigers. Missouri Western made 31-of-61 from the field (51 percent), while Lincoln connected on just 15-of-51 (29 percent).
Miliakere Koyamainavure (22 points, 11 rebounds) and Julia Torres (11 points, 10 rebounds) had double-doubles for the winners. LaQuinta Jefferson joined them in double-digit scoring with 19 points.
Zuri Hill paced Lincoln with 17 points, while Dorian Briggs added 15 and Asia McCaskill had 13.
Lincoln, which closed out a four-game road trip, is now off until it hosts Emporia State at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Jason Gym.