Today's Contest
- Tonight's game between the Lady Lions and Southwest Baptist University pits two struggling teams against the other. The Lady Lions are 0-4 in 2014, while the Bearcats are 1-4 since the New Year began. With a win over the Lady Lions, the Bearcats would tie them in the overall and conference standings.
- Lindenwood faces another MIAA team with a considerable size advantage. The Bearcats have seven players on their roster at least 6 feet. They have a 6-3 freshman center and 6-3 sophomore center.
- The Lady Lions lost twice to the Bearcats last season by almost identical scores of 69-62, in Bolivar, and 68-62, in St. Charles. Forward Jacqui Zelenka scored 30 points in the two games against the Lady Lions. The 6-0 senior is eighth in the MIAA in rebounding (7.9) and 10th in field goal percentage (.517).
Lindenwood Notes
- The Lady Lions changed their starting lineup to face Southwest Baptist for the third straight game. The Lady Lions will start two freshmen for the first time this season. Guard
Kassidy Gengenbacher has been in the starting lineup since Nov. 21 and leads the Lady Lions with 14.1 points per game and has scored 10 or more points in 12 of 15 games. Her scoring average rises to 15.4 points in MIAA games and Gengenbacher could be a candidate for MIAA Freshman of the Year. Zanders is making her first start after playing limited minutes in all 15 games. Zanders is second on the Lady Lions with 21 offensive rebounds.
- Sophomore guard
Dru Haertling is back in the starting lineup after a one-game absence. Haertling, who averages 6.4 points and 2.6 rebounds, had started the previous 14 games.
- The same can be said about junior
Morgan Johnson who played 22 minutes and scored a team-high 16 points off the bench against Missouri Southern. Johnson leads the MIAA in three-point field goal percentage. She has made 26 of 60 shots (.433) and was 3 of 5 from behind the arc against Missouri Southern. Johnson is also very good at anticipating opponents' shots and leads the Lady Lions with eight blocks.
- Stat facts: The Lady Lions are 8-1 when leading at halftime and 0-6 when trailing at the break. When the Lady Lions score 80 or more points, they are 5-0. When they allow 80 or more, they are 1-4. They haven't scored 80 points since beating Washburn 85-80 Dec. 22. Despite being a young team, the Lady Lions have used just four different starting lineups this season. The losing streak hasn't come at the expense of the Lady Lions having the league's best shooting team. The Lady Lions have made 411 of 892 shots (.461).
- March to 1,000 points: Senior
Caroline Bourlioux scored 11 points against Missouri Southern and raised her career total to 874. With 11 games remaining, Bourlioux needs to average 11.5 points to reach 1,000. Bourlioux will not be in the starting lineup for the first time this season Wednesday. Bourlioux is averaging 12.3 points which is her best scoring average since her freshman season.
- Around the MIAA: Fort Hays State forward Kate Lehman was selected as the conference Player of the Week for the third time this season. Teammate Chelsea Mason was selected as Player of the Week last week. Lehman is fifth in the league in scoring (15.8 points) and first in rebounds (11.6) and blocked shots (5.4). MIAA-leading Emporia State remains the No. 3 team in Division II with a conference record of 8-0 and overall mark of 17-0. Emporia State beat sixth-ranked Central Missouri 80-67 Jan. 11.
Last Time Out
- The Lady Lions lost 72-61 Jan. 15 to Missouri Southern State University in Joplin. The Lady Lions trailed MSSU by 10 points at halftime despite shooting 58.8 percent from the field.
- After trailing the Lions by 10 points at halftime, the Lady Lions whittled the deficit to 54-51 when junior
Morgan Johnson drained a three-point basket with 7 minutes 30 seconds left in the game. However, in the next two minutes, Missouri Southern junior Shawnee Phillips made two free throws and a three-pointer and teammate Dominique Mosley made a layup to push the Lions' lead back to 10.
- Johnson sank three three-pointers and led the Lady Lions with 16 points. Freshman
Kassidy Gengenbacher equaled her season scoring average with 14 points. And senior
Caroline Bourlioux finished with 11 points. Sophomore
Jenny Rocha led the Lady Lions with six assists and freshman
Bre Zanders and junior
Julie Hlinak led them with five rebounds.
Southwest Baptist University Notes
- Despite a subpar record, the Bearcats have plenty of talent and size. Two returning players garnered all-MIAA honors last season. Senior forward Jacqui Zelenka (6-0) was selected to the all- MIAA second team after averaging a double-double of 13.6 points and 10.6 rebounds. Sophomore guard Brook Duncan (6-0) was named the MIAA Freshman of the Year after she sank a team-high 41 three-point shots and averaged 9.6 points. Duncan is 10th in the MIAA in scoring with an average of 14.3 points.
- The Bearcats lost 73-63 to Missouri Western Saturday in St. Joseph, Mo. Missouri Western was just 1-7 in the MIAA going into the game. Sophomore point guard Dilonna Johnson tied her career high with the Bearcats with 19 points. Johnson wrested the MIAA lead in assists per game away last week from Missouri Southern State University's Samantha Soyez. Johnson (5.1) is the only player in the MIAA averaging at least 5 steals.
