Complete Game Notes in .pdf here

Storyline
After going winless last week the Lindenwood Lady Lions basketball team will try to right the ship this week with a road game against Benedictine and a home tilt when William Jewell comes to the Hyland Performance Arena. 

It will not be an easy task for the Lady Lions as they will face two of the better teams in the Heart of America Athletic Conference. 

The first game in Atchison, Kansas will close out a grueling three game road trip for the squad. The ladies will first take on the defending HAAC champs, the Benedictine Lady Ravens. After a hot start the Lady Ravens have come back to the pack with a 8-7 record.

To close out the week William Jewell will come to Lindenwood with the third best record in the HAAC.
The contest against Jewell will be the start of a crucial three game homestand for the Lady Lions as they begin the home stretch of the season.

Last Time Out
It was a busy week for the Lady Lions last week as they had three tough HAAC games.
First up was the conference leading Avila Eagles who came to the Hyland Performance Arena and took care of the Lady Lions, 86-67. Christina Edwards led the way for the Lions with 27 points to lead all scorers.

Next up for Lindenwood was the start of a three game road trip. First was a trip to Fayette, Missouri to take on the Central Methodist Eagles. The Eagles beat the Lady Lions 65-58 for their first conference win of the season. For the sixth straight game Edwards led the team in scoring with 18.

To close out the week, Lindenwood traveled to Olathe, Kansas to tangle with the MidAmerica Nazarene Pioneers. The Lady Lions had one of their poorest shooting nights and fell to the Pioneers, 78-50. On the night the team shot 29 percent from the field, 11 percent from behind the arc and 42 percent from the free throw line.

Dominating Lady Lion
Junior forward Christina Edwards has made her presence felt in the HAAC. In seven games this season she is averaging over 20 points a game and 11.5 rebounds.

The Kalamazoo native has led the Lady Lions in scoring every game she has played in.
Edwards scoring average of 21 points would lead the HAAC if she would have enough games played.

In a win against Graceland earlier in the season she recorded a career-high 34 points and 20 rebounds. The 30 point effort was the first for the team this year as was the 20 rebounds. The 34 points was the most a Lady Lion has scored since Ashley Comer's 36 in 2003.

Three-Point Defense
Lindenwood is holding its opponents to just 30 percent shooting from behind the three-point line, despite having the most three point attempts against in the HAAC. Opponents are averaging under six made three pointers a game. The 30 percent ranks the Lady Lions 47th in the country and the fifth in the HAAC.

Senior Leadership
Senior Cassie Williams is leading the Lady Lions in several categories. She leads the team in steals (1.8), assists (3.25) and minutes played per game (30.5). She also is tops in free-throws attempted (77), total rebounds (127) and blocked shots with eight. She is second on the team in rebounds per game (7.9) and third in scoring, averaging 9.6 points per contest.

Team of Thieves
In its first 16 games, Lindenwood has recorded 163 steals, good for more than 10 a game and fifth among HAAC schools. Every player has recorded at least one and six Lady Lions have double-digits.
The team's season high is 21 against Olivet Nazarene.

Cleaning The Glass
During conference games Lindenwood has recorded the second most offensive rebounds with 125 and are third in per game average with 15.62.

Christina Edwards leads the team with a total of 49 offensive boards. For the whole season the team is averaging 14.50 offensive rebounds which is good for 30th in the whole country.

Getting To The Stripe
Through 13 games this season Lindenwood has taken the most free throws in the HAAC. The 341 free throw attempts is 24 more than Missouri Valley who is second in the conference.

Against Graceland the team went to the stripe 29 times which was most this season and made 23, which was also the most.

60 The Magic Number
When the Lady Lions defense holds their opponents to less than 60 points they are perfect on the season with a 2-0 record.

Sade Coming On Strong
Since coming back from the Christmas break the junior from St. Louis has scored nine or more points and shot the ball at a 46 percent clip. She also has led the team in assists in that span with 18.

Last Year
A year ago the Lady Lions were a total of 1-3 against their opponents this week.

Lindenwood was 1-1 against the eventual HAAC champions, Benedictine. The win came at home 65-64, but they would fall on the road, 80-59. Against the Cardinals the squad was 0-2 with a 99-57 loss at home and a 80-63 defeat on the road.

Scouting Benedictine
The Benedictine Lady Ravens come into the contest with a record of 8-7 overall and 3-3 in conference play. After starting the conference portion of the schedule 1-3 the team has won two games in a row . The game against the Lady Lions will end a three game home stand for the Lady Ravens.
 
Benedictine is led by a pair of sophomores. Center Teresa Zienkewicz leads the team in scoring with over 10 points a game and also leads in rebounds with an average of six a night. The second sophomore is point guard Kelsey Wolfe who is averaging just over nine points a game and is second on the team in assists with three a game.

Chad Folsom enters his ninth year as the head coach of the Benedictine women's basketball program.  In his first eight years, Coach Folsom has compiled a 177-86 overall record at Benedictine.  In 2006, Coach Folsom became the winningest coach in Benedictine women's basketball history.

Scouting William Jewell
The William Jewell Cardinals currently sport an overall record of 13-5 and a conference mark of 6-2. The record is good for third in the HAAC. Jewell has won its last nine out of 11 games but the last two have been the losses. The losses were by a total of three points and were to Avila and Baker who are leading the HAAC.

The Cardinals have four players that average double figures led by a pair of seniors. Point guard Hillary Adams leads the team with 15.75 points and 3.38 assists. The second senior is Erica Ferguson who is just under Adams' with a an average of 15.35 points and is also second on the team with 6.47 rebounds.         

The next two leading scorers are sophomores, the first is Brandie Roberts who scores over 14 points a game and leads the team with over eight boards a game. Finally, sophomore Katie Bond adds 10.38 points a contest.
     
Jill Cress begins her 14th year as the head coach of the women's basketball program at William Jewell.

Up Next
The Lady Lions will play a pair of games at home. First up will be a game against Culver-Stockton and a weekend game against the Baker Wildcats.