The Lincoln Blue Tiger women’s basketball team will look to get back on track at 5:30 p.m. today when it hosts the Baptist Bible College Patriots for its home opener.
Lincoln (1-1) opened its season by splitting its two games in the Central Region Challenge last weekend in Magnolia, Ark., defeating Arkansas-Monticello 77-70 before dropping a contest 81-62 against host Southern Arkansas.
Baptist Bible (5-1), an NCCAA school located in Springfield, enters tonight’s contest coming off an 84-70 victory against Harris-Stowe State to bounce back from its lone loss of the season, an 80-74 defeat to Stephens College.
The Patriots have averaged 79 points per game this season while allowing 59.7.
Baptist Bible has three players averaging double figures in points so far, led by sophomore guard Cassidy Hambelton (5-foot-4) at 18.8 per contest on 59 percent shooting. Senior forward Jose Sullivan (5-10) is next at 14.8 on 45 percent shooting and sophomore forward Abby Woolsey (5-9) has chipped in 11.3 points and a co-team-high 6.2 rebounds while shooting at a 36-percent clip.
The Blue Tigers averaged 69.5 points and allowed 75.5 per game so far this season. Lincoln has been led by sophomore guard Ashlyn Alloway (5-11) with team-highs of 17.5 points and 8.0 rebounds per contest.
Senior guard Steph Torres (5-6), a West Georgia transfer in her first season at Lincoln, is next at 14.5 points per game on 39 percent shooting and redshirt freshman Hanne Nybo (6-0) has scored 10.0 per contest while shooting 53 percent shooting in her first two games in a Blue Tiger uniform after missing all of last season with a torn ACL as a true freshman.
Tonight will mark the first-ever matchup between the two teams.