The Lincoln women's basketball team had a shot to tie the game in the closing seconds of Friday night's game. Unfortunately, the Blue Tigers (0-3) came up short for the second straight game, losing a heartbreaker to Missouri-St.Louis (2-1) by a final score of 54-51 at Jason Gym.
"I was trying to isolate my two best 3-point shooters on the same side of the floor. It was a miscommunication in regards to where the inbounder was supposed to go once she inbounded the ball. We just did not execute at all," Lincoln head coach Ayana McWilliams said of the final play.
Those two best 3-point shooters were senior guards Hunter Yoakum and Azaria Nave, who each played a large part in helping Lincoln rally from a 26-21 halftime deficit to get within striking distance. Yoakum scored nine big points in the third quarter, draining three 3-pointers to put help put Lincoln within one point at the end of the third quarter, where Missouri-St. Louis was left clinging to a 33-32 advantage.
However, it was Nave who came up with 10 huge fourth-quarter points, rallying Lincoln after Missouri-St. Louis built a 10 point lead with 4:21 remaining in the game.
"We were down and then (Missouri-St.Louis) started changing the way they were defending. Nobody else was getting open, so I had to be a team leader and make the shots," Nave said.
Nave, who averaged 21.5 points-per-game heading into Friday night's game, has paired with Yoakum to carry much of the scoring load early in Lincoln's young season. Heading into Friday night, they combined to average 43 points-per-game.
"We're both seniors and this is our last year, so we've got to bring everything we've got to the table," Nave said.
The main story of this game, however, had to do with rebounds. Missouri-St. Louis outrebounded Lincoln 55-24 on Friday night, including 27 offensive rebounds. This discrepancy can be attributed to the Tritons having a height advantage in the frontcourt, boasting four players that stand at 5-foot-10 inches or taller.
McWilliams had another explanation for Missouri-St. Louis's dominance on the glass.
"We got pounded on the (offensive rebounds). That comes down to heart. You can talk about how undersized we are, how undermanned we are, but rebounding is nothing but heart," McWilliams said. "Over the next couple of days we have to figure out how to toughen up a little bit. But we can't get pounded on the glass like that."
On a brighter note, the Blue Tigers got a major contribution from their bench, as junior forward Tyler Henderson-Brown nearly had a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds.
"That's exactly what I'm looking for from her. That's something she's used to doing," McWilliams said. "She's done it everywhere she's been, and I've got to figure out how to keep her consistent on doing those things."
On her big performance off of the bench, Brown-Henderson noted "I want to give my team as much support as I can, even if it's off the court."
Friday night marked the second time in three games this season where the Blue Tigers have suffered a close loss. Earlier in the week, Lincoln allowed Missouri S&T to pull away late in a 66-73 loss.
"We'll lick our wounds tonight and get up tomorrow and get back to the drawing boards and then figure out how to come out with a win on Monday," McWilliams said.
Lincoln will try to avoid an 0-4 start Monday as it hosts Stephens College at 7 p.m.