ST. CHARLES, Mo. - For the second straight game, the Lincoln Blue Tiger women overcame a halftime deficit.
Lincoln trailed by 11 at the half Tuesday against Lindenwood, then led by six points early in the fourth quarter. The game headed to overtime and the Blue Tigers outscored the Lions 13-9 in the extra period to win 71-67.
Lincoln led 17-15 after one quarter, but for the second straight game, the Blue Tigers struggled in the second quarter. Lindenwood tallied 21 points while Lincoln had just eight, and the Lions went into halftime with a 36-25 lead.
Lindenwood finished the first half on a 12-0 run, but Lincoln answered with a dominant third quarter. The Blue Tigers outscored the Lions 19-5 in the quarter, finishing on a 10-1 run to take a 44-41 lead into the fourth quarter.
Hunter Yoakum scored an old-fashioned 3-point play early in the fourth quarter to stretch the lead to 47-41.
Lindenwood scored the next seven points to retake the lead. The fourth quarter consisted of four ties and seven lead changes. Khadijah Ellison made a layup with less than a minute to play to tie the game at 58.
The Lions missed a jumper and a pair of free throws in the final minute of regulation, while Ellison missed a jumper in the closing seconds to send the game into overtime.
Lincoln trailed by five points early in overtime, but the Blue Tigers took the lead at the free-throw line. Lincoln was 8-of-10 at the line in overtime.
Ellison finished with a game-high 19 points to go with nine rebounds for Lincoln, while Yoakum had 13 points and Azaria Nave finished with 11 points. Tempary Gunter came off the bench to score nine points.
Megan Foster (Jefferson City High School) nearly had a double-double for Lindenwood, finishing with nine points and 11 rebounds. Bre Zanders (Helias High School) added four points.
Lincoln (5-18, 4-12 MIAA) will play at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at Central Missouri.
III
The Lincoln men's basketball team fell 73-61 on Tuesday against Lindenwood, suffering its fifth loss in the last six games.
The Blue Tigers trailed by as many as eight points in the first half, then used an 11-2 run to take a 25-24 lead with 6:47 left in the half. Lincoln would take a 36-35 lead into halftime.
Lincoln's largest lead of the game was four points, which occurred when Anthony Virdure knocked down a 3-pointer in the opening minute of the second half. Lindenwood took the lead two minutes later and never trailed again, stretching its lead to 60-48 with 8:20 to play.
Virdure had a game-high 21 points to lead the Blue Tigers, adding four assists. Jaylon Smith finished with 20 points and four steals.
Lincoln (14-11, 7-9 MIAA) will play at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Central Missouri.