Entering Saturday's game against No. 21 Emporia State, the Lincoln University women's basketball team had lost nine of 11.
On top of that, the Blue Tigers had to play without their top scorer and rebounder Zuri Hill on Saturday after she got injured last Saturday at Missouri Western.
The Hornets took advantage and scored at will inside on their way to a 99-45 win at Jason Gym.
"We've got so many people hurt right now that we had so many people out of position," Lincoln coach Nicole Collier said. "We just couldn't transition well."
Starting guard Hunter Yoakum, who also got injured at Missouri Western, came off the bench Saturday for only 13 minutes. She was limited to two free throws and 0-of-2 shooting.
But Lincoln did get some offensive production from Jasmine Guthrie, who started in Hill's place.
She scored a team-high 13 on 6-of-9 shooting.
"I think its going to build her confidence and it'll give her more experience," Collier said. "The season's winding down and Zuri has done a lot of good things for us and Jasmine hasn't gotten a lot of opportunities, so I think this will give her an opportunity."
Guthrie played 29 minutes while Narel dos Santos came off the bench to play the 5 spot for 11 minutes. She finished with three rebounds to tie Azaria Nave for a team-high and added a block. Nave finished with 11 points.
Former Tuscumbia Lady Lion Tempary Gunter played 13 minutes, the most since totaling 21 against Washburn on Jan. 4.
With Hill out of the lineup, Emporia State outrebounded Lincoln 40-19.
The Hornets have four players that average at least nine points, and they used that balanced attack Saturday with six players scoring at least nine.
Sandra Ngoie, a 6-foot-2 forward, dominated inside and out with 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting. She made 3-of-4 from 3-point range.
Two of her 3s came in the fourth quarter - one from the wing to make it 73-33 at the 9:12 mark and one from the top of the key to put the Hornets up 83-38 at the 6:51 mark.
Kathryn Flott, a 6-foot-1 forward, went 7-of-8 from the field on her way to 16 points. She also had a game-high eight rebounds.
Kelsey Barnwell (12), Kelly Moten (10) and Jacee Kramer (10) also scored in double figures for Emporia State.
Lincoln's first matchup with the Hornets was similar, with six Emporia State players scoring in double figures in a 101-76 defeat of the Blue Tigers.
The Blue Tigers had big scoring droughts throughout the game.
Emporia State outscored Lincoln 6-0 between the 9:35 mark and the 5:12 mark of the second quarter.
Guthrie knocked down a jumper at the 5:12 mark, but Lincoln didn't score again until a Dorian Briggs jumper at the 2:20 mark.
"I thought Jasmine did fine," Collier said. "I thought she battled. It wasn't perfect but I think she played hard."
While Lincoln was struggling to find the bottom of the net, Emporia State shot 17-of-22 (77.2 percent) from two-point range in the first half and 13-of-20 (65 percent) in the second half.
The Hornets also made 5-of-9 from 3-point range in the second half.
Lincoln had another major drought in the third quarter, being outscored 10-0 between a Guthrie layup at the 8:04 mark and a Briggs layup at the 3:53 mark.
Briggs finished with nine points while Asia McCaskill added eight.
Lincoln avoided a long drought in the fourth quarter until not scoring in the final 3:48.
Lincoln sits 12th in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association with a 4-14 record, 8-16 overall.
Northeastern State (8-16, 5-13 MIAA), Lindenwood (7-17, 3-15 MIAA) and Northwest Missouri (5-20, 3-16 MIAA) will battle Lincoln for the 11 and 12 seeds in the MIAA Tournament.
The Blue Tigers will play Thursday at Nebraska-Kearney (12-12, 8-10 MIAA).