The Lindenwood women’s basketball team (7-19, 5-11 OVC) picked up a win on Senior Day, defeating Little Rock (10-17, 9-7 OVC), 61-54.
GAME OVERVIEW
It was a defensive battle to open the first as the score was 7-6 Lindenwood at the media. Mya Skoff drilled a three late in the opening frame to give the Lions a 10-7 lead, but Little Rock closed the quarter on a 5-0 run to take a 12-10 lead into the second. Lindenwood forced five turnovers on the defensive end.
Both teams opened the second quarter shooting above 50 percent clip, as Little Rock led 19-16 with 5:03 left in the half. From that point on, Lindenwood clamped down defensively, holding the Trojans to just two points for the remainder of the quarter. This allowed Lindenwood to close the half on a 9-2 run, including a buzzer beater by Mykayla Cunningham which gave the Lions a 25-21 advantage at the break. Makayla Wallace finished the quarter with eight points and had a team-high nine at halftime.
After being out most of the first half with foul trouble, Justis Odom went to work to begin the second half with six consecutive points to extend the Lindenwood lead to 31-21. The Lions extended the advantage to 37-25, but Little Rock responded with an 8-0 run to close the gap to four. Lindenwood took a 40-38 advantage to the fourth
Lindenwood opened the fourth period with six of the first eight points to grow the lead back to 46-40 early in the fourth. Little Rock battled back and was able to tie things up at 50 apiece with just over four minutes to go in the game. The two teams went back and forth from that point, but Odom took over down the stretch with 16 fourth quarter points including some big free throws late. The Lions went on to pick up the 61-54 win.
GAME LEADERS
Justis Odom (24 points, six rebounds, 14-16 FT
Mykayla Cunningham (13 points, 6-of-9 shooting, four rebounds)
Makayla Wallace (10 points, two steals)
QUOTABLE
“Proud of our kids and their effort today! This one was a team effort and our kids played their hearts out for Makayla and Kendra on senior day!”, said head coach Amy Eagan.
UP NEXT
Lindenwood will return to the court on Thursday, February 29 for a road matchup with Southern Indiana. Tip-off is set for 5:00 p.m.
