ST. CHARLES, Mo. - The Lincoln women's basketball team dropped its third consecutive game Sunday, falling to the Lindenwood Lions 69-46 in Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association play.
The game was originally scheduled for Saturday, but this weekend's inclement weather pushed the game back a day.
Lincoln briefly held the lead on two occasions in the opening minutes of the first quarter. Bre Coleman knocked down a jumper to put the Blue Tigers ahead 5-3, then the Lincoln senior added a layup moments later to retake the lead 7-6.
However, Lindenwood answered with a 9-2 run and never trailed again.
The Lions held a 15-12 advantage after one quarter, then outscored the Blue Tigers 19-6 in the second to take a 34-18 lead into halftime.
Lincoln outscored Lindenwood 16-13 in the third quarter, closing the gap to 47-34 entering the fourth.
The Blue Tigers scored the first six points of the second half. Lindenwood's Devin Fuhring made a 3 to stop the run, but Lincoln's Shannyn Triplett answered with a 3 to make the score 37-27.
Triplett added a layup and made 1-of-2 free throws, capping a 12-2 run for Lincoln, and closed the gap to seven points at 37-30.
Lindenwood never let Lincoln get any closer, finishing the quarter on a 10-4 run. The Lions outscored the Blue Tigers 22-12 in the final 10 minutes, starting the fourth quarter on a 9-1 run.
After Zhanesha Dickerson fouled out with a minute to play in the game, Lincoln finished the game with just four players on the court. Coleman also fouled out in the fourth quarter and another player suffered an injury earlier in the game.
The final margin was Lindenwood's largest lead of the game.
Kallie Bildner, the MIAA's leading scorer and rebounder, finished with team highs of 16 points and seven rebounds for Lindenwood. She entered the game averaging 18.5 points and 10.9 rebounds.
Charisse Williams and Ferguson each added 10 points for Lindenwood (11-1, 5-0 MIAA), which received votes in last week's WBCA Division II Top 25 poll.
Triplett came off the bench and scored a season-high 16 points for Lincoln (9-5, 1-4 MIAA), making two of her team's three 3-pointers. The Blue Tigers shot 25.4 percent from the field and just 23.1 percent beyond the arc.
Dickerson also reached double figures with 12 points. Alecia Gulledge grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds for the Blue Tigers.
Both Lincoln teams will continue conference play on the road Wednesday at Warrensburg. The women open against Central Missouri - ranked No. 19 in Division II - at 5:30 p.m. The men's game will follow at 7:30 p.m.