The Missouri Western women continue to struggle falling in their third straight game (all on the road) Saturday against the Lincoln Blue Tigers by a score of 73-66. The Griffons fall to 12-6 overall and 5-5 in MIAA play.

The first eight minutes of the first half was a back-and-forth battle with the Griffons tying the score at 13 after a Heather Howard jumper. The Griffons opened up their largest lead of the game at 23-17 at the six minute mark after a Denise White jumper. The rest of the half was a struggle for the Griffons getting outscored 16-8 going into halftime down 33-31.

The Griffons had 13 points off 14 Blue Tiger turnovers but got outscored 20-14 in the paint. The Griffons made 11-of-27 shots with Howard and Lanicia Lawrence both scoring eight in the frame. Lincoln made 13 field goals with Arriana Walker leading the way with 11 points on 3-of-5 shooting.

The Griffons came out of halftime on fire using a 12-4 run to claim a six point lead at 43-37 after back-to-back three’s by Alex Saxon with 15:10 to play. Unfortunatley the rest of the half belonged to Lincoln, outscoring the Griffons 36-23 the rest of the way claiming the victory.

The Griffons leading scorer Howard was held scoreless in the second half while Bell finished with 16 points in the game. Bell also had seven rebounds and five assists. Lanicia Lawrence pitched 10 points for the Griffons.

Walker led Lincoln with 27 points and 11 rebounds. She made 11-of-14 free throws and dished out eight rebounds. Dahlia Booker and Jackeya Mitchell finished with 13 apiece. The Blue Tigers improve to 9-9 overall and 4-6 in MIAA play.

The Griffons return home on Wednesday, January 30 to take on the 18th ranked Pittsburg State, Game time is set for 5:30 pm from the MWSU Fieldhouse.

— MWSU Sports Information —