When Lincoln went right after Northwest Missouri's bigs, it resulted in its shots bouncing off the rim and backboard or being blocked.
When the Blue Tigers got open jumpers, they pulled the trigger. The ball just didn't go through the hoop.
"If we can't make a layup we can't play this game," Lincoln women's basketball coach Ayana McWilliams said following Thursday's 56-32 loss to the Bearcats at Jason Gym. "Twenty offensive rebounds is enough to get you easy put-backs, you can get to the free-throw line. You shoot 25 percent from there, 1-for-11 from 3. You can't put the ball in the hole no matter how well you defend or anything you do on the other end."
The 56 points is the second-fewest Lincoln has allowed this season and the best defensive effort in a Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association game since defeating Northwest Missouri 64-51 in last season's Feb. 9 matchup at home.
But the 32 points for Lincoln tied a Northwest Missouri record for fewest points allowed in an MIAA game.
The Blue Tigers didn't score more than nine points in any quarter, but led 8-5 after the first quarter.
Down 5-2, Vivian Chigbu stole the ball near mid-court and put in a layup to cut the deficit to one.
Kiara Shoulders then picked off a pass that led to a layup for Kaloni Pryear for a 6-5 lead with 2:56 left in the opening quarter.
Chigbu had three of Lincoln's nine steals, while Shoulders, Alecia Gulledge and Natasha Dolinsky added two each.
The lead slipped away early in the second quarter when the Bearcats scored 13 unanswered points, including 3-pointers from Jaelyn Haggard, Kylie Coleman and Kendey Eaton for an 18-8 lead with 5:55 left in the second quarter.
"The second quarter was a big letdown because we allowed them to get to their game," McWilliams said.
Five of Northwest's seven 3s went in during the second quarter, resulting in a 32-16 halftime lead for the Bearcats.
A turnaround jumper for Dolinsky did spark a 7-2 spurt early in the second quarter to get within 36-23 at the 6:06 mark.
Chigbu capped the run with a basket following of the Lincoln's 20 offensive rebounds, but the Blue Tigers could only turn those boards into 12 points.
Chigbu grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds to go with nine points. Pryear led Lincoln in points with 10.
Northwest Missouri's size in the post was an issue for Lincoln. Jayna Green, a 6-foot freshman, led the Bearcats with 12 rebounds, and 6-2 freshman Paityn Rau had eight boards.
That size also helped keep Lincoln (1-7, 0-1 MIAA) from scoring easy baskets in the post, as Northwest Missouri (5-3, 1-0) used two of their bigs to defend the paint for much of the game.
The margin grew to as much as 28 points after a Green layup made it 56-28 with 2:32 remaining.
"I just felt like we were out of rhythm offensively the entire time," McWilliams said. "I give them a lot of credit for sealing those gaps and making us really work for it, but we have to be disciplined enough to move the ball from side to side and work it inside-out to get the best shot."
Haggard scored a game-high 13 points for the Bearcats, making 3-of-6 from 3-point range. Eaton scored 12 points.
Lincoln will host Missouri Western at 1 p.m. Saturday.