Lindenwood game notes (.pdf)

Today's Contest
- After winning one of three games on the road to start the season, the Lady Lions (1-2) return to Hyland Arena for their home-opener against McKendree University. The Bearcats are 1-0 after their 54-41 win against Lincoln Nov. 12. The Bearcats finished 8-18 overall and 3-15 in the GLVC last season. Lincoln is one of the Lady Lions MIAA rivals.

- Lindenwood lost 86-71 to McKendree last season. Guard Julie Hlinak was 3 of 3 from three-point range and led the Lady Lions with 15 points in that game. McKendree guard Brittany Willis torched the Lady Lions for 32 points. The 5-foot-6 senior scored 16 points in the Bearcats opener.

- The Lady Lions are trying to snap a five-game losing streak at Hyland. Their last win at home was Jan. 12, 2013 against MIAA rival University of Central Oklahoma. The Lady Lions host Central Oklahoma Dec. 5 in the middle of their six-game homestand.

Lindenwood Notes
- Senior guard Marissa Lehnig has provided solid scoring punch off the bench for the Lady Lions. Lehnig has registered double-digit points in all three games and leads the team with 13.7 points per game. She's made 15 of 32 (.469) field goals and tied her career high for rebounds in a game (9).

- The two top teams in the MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll are off to 4-0 starts. Emporia State, picked to finish first, is ranked No. 5 in Division II and won all three of its games in Anaheim, Calif. One of those wins was against No. 9 ranked Concordia-St. Paul. Central Missouri just returned from Winter Park, Fla. with a pair of wins.

- Lindenwood cooled off some from the field. The Lady Lions were shooting 48.8 percent after their first two games, but dipped below 40 percent (38.2) against the Tritons.

- Coach Tony Francis has gone with the same starting lineup of Caroline Bourlioux, Jenny Rocha, Dru Haertling, Morgan Johnson and Julie Hlinak in all three games. Rocha leads the Lady Lions with 29.7 minutes per game and 13 assists.

- Junior guard Meagan Hittle has played in all three games for the Lady Lions and is averaging 3.7 points and 15 minutes of playing time.

- Freshman Kassidy Gengenbacher is shooting .429 from the field and averaging 6.7 points per game for the Lady Lions. Gengenbacher is fifth on the team in rebounding (3.0).

- The game against McKendree will be senior Caroline Bourlioux's 70th career start. Bourlioux is still trying to make her first three-point basket. She's 0-22 in her career from beyond the arc.

- The first five games (two exhibition, three regular season) have tested the Lady Lions in many ways. They played two Division I teams (SIU-C, SIUE) in the preseason, and then traveled to Arkansas and Tennessee before coming closer to St. Louis to face seasoned teams on their home courts.

- Morgan Johnson's layup with 17:38 left to play gave the Lady Lions a 33-31 lead over UMSL. Johnson was fouled on the play but missed the free throw as the Lady Lions missed two field-goal attempts and had a turnover as they tried to increase their lead.

Last Time Out
- Lindenwood lost 70-58 to the University of Missouri-St. Louis Saturday. The Tritons' win was similar to last year's against the Lady Lions. In their previous meeting, the game was tied five times and there were nine lead changes. The lead only changed twice Saturday, but the Lady Lions only trailed by two points with 6:53 to play.

- Freshman forward Bre Zanders fouled out for the second straight game. Zanders picked up five fouls in five minutes of court time.

- The Lady Lions have committed 70 fouls through three games, but their opponents have shot just 60.8 percent from the free-throw line.

- Senior Caroline Bourlioux scored 18 points in her 74th game for the Lady Lions. Bourlioux is second on the team in scoring (12.7 points) and her career scoring average raised a tick to 9.7. She's 8 of 9 from the free-throw line this year.

McKendree Notes
- McKendree returns its top three scorers from a season ago. Senior Brittany Willis was second on the Bearcats in scoring with 10.8 points per game. Willis has started in 59 career games and started all 26 games as their point guard last season. Junior Caty Ponce led the Bearcats with 16.6 points and 3.1 assists last year. Ponce shot 92.1 percent from the free-throw line. Sophomore Liz Gilman was third in scoring (10.7) and assists (2.3).

- The Bearcats were picked to finish sixth in the Great Lakes Valley Conference East Division by the league's coaches. The Bearcats haven't had a winning record since 2009-10 when they finished 25-7.