The Lindenwood women's basketball team earned its second consecutive win Thursday night, defeating Culver-Stockton 58-50 to open conference play. The Lady Lions, who led by one at halftime, pulled away early in the second half and held on late, icing the game from the free throw line.

Lindenwood controlled the early stages of the game, eventually opening up a 19-9 advantage with less than eight minutes remaining in the half. However, the Wildcats would limit the Lady Lions to just one field goal over the next six minutes.

A jumper at the 2:06 mark by Culver-Stockton's Lisa Plattner would cap a 13-2 run that gave the home team its first lead of the night. The lead would exchange hands twice in the final two minutes, but Destini Wilson's jump shot with one minute to go put the Lady Lions up 26-25 heading into the break.

Lindenwood used a methodical 15-5 run in the first 10 minutes of the second half to push the lead back to double digits, sparked by four points each from Wilson and Abby Schultenhenrich. Once again, Culver-Stockton would rally, cutting the lead to 47-45 with less than four minutes to go.

Bottled up all night by the Wildcats defense, a pair of free throws by leading scorer Cassie Williams would spark a quick 7-0 run for the Lady Lions. Down the stretch, Lindenwood would go eight-of-10 from the line to secure the win.

Wilson had a team-best 20 points and Kelly Albers recorded her second double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Schultenhenrich was the other Lady Lion in double figures with 10 points. Despite being held to a season-low four points, Williams had a team-high 11 rebounds and six assists.

Lindenwood shot just 37 percent from the field, connecting on only two three-pointers, but held Culver-Stockton to 29 percent from the field. The Lady Lions outscored the Wildcats 22-14 in the paint and forced 26 turnovers.

Lindenwood (2-5, 1-0) will travel to Baker this Saturday for another HAAC matchup.