The Lincoln women's basketball team began the game with five players on the court. By the time the final horn sounded, there were only four.
The Blue Tigers finished short-handed after three players fouled out Saturday in a 68-56 loss to Central Oklahoma at Jason Gym.
Lincoln played the final 5:11 of the game with four players on the court after Bre Coleman picked up her fifth foul. Yet despite having a one-person advantage, Central Oklahoma was outscored 14-13 by the Blue Tigers to finish the game.
"I guess you just applaud the effort," Lincoln coach Ayana McWilliams said. "That's about all you can do."
This is the second time Lincoln finished a game short-handed this season. Two foul-outs and an injured player left the Blue Tigers with four players for the final minute of a 69-46 loss earlier this month at Lindenwood.
Lincoln also played the last 4:33 with just four players in a preseason exhibition loss at Missouri State.
The finish was far from ideal, but McWilliams was pleased with her team's play in the first quarter, taking a 14-10 lead after the opening 10 minutes.
"I thought our play early on was great," McWilliams said. "We've just got to be smarter and make smarter decisions."
Four straight free throws to start the second quarter extended Lincoln's lead to 18-10, its largest advantage of the game. And then the bottom fell out.
Central Oklahoma's Kaci Richardson was whistled for a personal foul under the basket, giving Lincoln a chance to extend its lead to double digits. But seconds later, Coleman was whistled for a technical foul for taunting, and the Bronchos made both free throws and took possession of the ball.
Micayla Haynes knocked down a 3-pointer and a baseline jumper, and Blake Blessington followed with a 3 from the top of the key to put Central Oklahoma ahead 20-18.
"If you have to pin it on one thing, that's the moment when everything changed," McWilliams said of Coleman's technical foul. "We had just told her in the timeout that she needed to be careful and don't give them what they need. We're limited in numbers and we have to take that into account."
Coleman converted a three-point play to put Lincoln back up by one point, but the Bronchos made six straight free throws while piling on the Blue Tigers' foul trouble to retake the lead for good.
Kaloni Pryear was the first Lincoln player to foul out with 7:36 left in the third quarter. Zoi Thompson fouled out with 6:50 to play in the fourth, leaving the Blue Tigers with five players.
"We just have to be smart about things," McWilliams said. "If you have four fouls and the team needs you on the floor, you have to be smart."
Central Oklahoma led 32-24 at halftime. Lincoln closed the gap to six points late in the third quarter, but the Bronchos went on an 8-2 run to take a 46-34 lead into the fourth.
"A lot of everything down the stretch is attributed to fatigue, not being able to rotate through the roster to give players the proper rest," McWilliams said.
Zhanesha Dickerson, who led Lincoln with 16 points, made a pair of 3-pointers when the Blue Tigers were left with four players on the floor.
Coleman finished with 14 points and nine rebounds, while Alecia Gulledge added 11 points.
Ireon Smith led Central Oklahoma (13-7, 4-6 MIAA) with 18 points. Megan Hartness came off the bench to score 17 points for the Bronchos.
Lincoln (9-9, 1-8 MIAA), which has lost its last seven games, plays Thursday at Washburn.
Tip-off is at 5:30 p.m., with the men's game to follow at 7:30 p.m.