Today's Contest
- The Lady Lions lost their first game at Hyland Arena this season Saturday to Pittsburg State. They take a 6-1 home record into Monday's game against MIAA powerhouse Emporia State University. The Lady Hornets are the third ranked team in Division II and are outscoring their opponents by 23 points per game.
- Plus-224: that's the eye-popping rebounding advantage the Lady Hornets have over their opponents this season. The Lady Hornets spread the rebounds around as none of their players are averaging more than 8.3 per game. The Lady Lions are a very respectable plus-54 in rebounding, but it's hard to compete with the Lady Hornets in just about any statistical category.
- Emporia State dominated the Lady Lions 85-54 last season in Kansas. The Lady Lions shot 25 percent from the field and quickly fell behind in the first half.
Marissa Lehnig led the Lady Lions with 14 points and
Meagan Hittle had seven rebounds in the loss.
Lindenwood Notes
- The Lady Lions faced two of the MIAA's top three scorers in their last two games and both players scored well above their season averages. In the Lady Lions' 85-80 win over Washburn Dec. 22, Casyn Buchman scored a game-high 27 points. Buchman is second with 20.1 points per game. On Saturday, Lizzy Jeronimus (third, 18.3) scored 23 points.
- Almost midway through the season, freshman
Kassidy Gengenbacher, sophomore
Jenny Rocha, junior
Morgan Johnson and senior
Caroline Bourlioux are all ranked in the top 10 among MIAA leaders. Rocha is second in the MIAA in field goal percentage (.608), and fourth in assists (4.3); Gengenbacher is tied for fourth in free-throw percentage (.814) and tied with Johnson as the top three-point shooters (.442); Bourlioux is tied for fourth in steals (2.0).
- On Dec. 7, after the Lady Lions beat Northeastern State, Rocha was averaging 6.5 points per game. Her scoring average has been steadily climbing since then as she's up to 9.3. She's topped 10 or more points in each of the last four games. She's the only player on the team averaging more than 30 minutes per game.
- Lindenwood is first in the MIAA in field goal percentage (.471) and has the fifth-ranked scoring offense. But the Lady Lions are ranked second-to-last in field goal defense (.409) and 10th in scoring defense.
- Senior
Marissa Lehnig has surpassed 20 or more points three times this season. She scored 23 in the loss to Pittsburg State, scored 20 on Nov. 21 in a win against Harris-Stowe, and 23 Nov. 19 in a win against McKendree. Lehnig is second on the Lady Lions in scoring average (13.5).
- Bourlioux grabbed 10 rebounds against Pittsburg State. That matched her season high she set against Harris-Stowe. Bourlioux has nine rebounds in a game twice this season and leads the Lady Lions with 6.1 per game.
- Johnson had a block against Pittsburg State and leads the Lady Lions with seven. Johnson has made 17 of 20 free throws (.850) and 23 of 52 (.442) three-point baskets. Her season scoring average has been hovering around 10 points all season.
- The Lady Lions have two more home games this month. On Jan. 22, they host Southwest Baptist, and on Jan. 30, they host Northwest Missouri. Both games tip off at 5:30 p.m.
- Freshman
Bre Zanders continues to have a strong first season. She's shooting .412 from the field, .813 from the free-throw line and second in offensive rebounding.
Last Time Out
- All-American swing player Lizzy Jeronimus made a layup in the waning seconds of the Gorillas 80-79 win over Lindenwood and ended the Lady Lions six-game home winning streak in the process. Jeronimus is third in the MIAA with 18.1 points per game. She scored 23 points against the Lady Lions. Lindenwood senior
Marissa Lehnig led the Lady Lions with 23 points.
- After winning seven out of eight games between November and December, including a tough road win at Washburn before the break, the Lady Lions trailed the Gorillas by 19 points with 10 minutes 46 seconds left in the game.
- Junior
Morgan Johnson was 3 of 4 from three-point range and finished with 16 points. She leads the Lady Lions with 26 three-pointers.
Lehnig finished 7 of 8 from the free-throw line. She made two free throws with 34 seconds left to tie the game, but missed her second free throw with a second left.
Emporia State University Notes
- Emporia State's 13-0 start is its best since starting 15-0 in 2005-06. The current win streak is the eighth longest in school history.
- The Lady Hornets have qualified for the NCAA Tournament 15 times in 17 years, and the Lady Hornets won the 2010 National Championship. The Lady Hornets were runners-up for the National Championship in 1998, advanced to the Final Four in 1999 and qualified for the Elite Eight in 2000 and 2006. The Lady Hornets qualified for the Sweet 16 last season.
- Several Lady Hornets are among the MIAA leaders. Amber Vandiver is second in offensive rebounding with 3.8 per game; Merissa Quick is second in blocked shots (2.2); Laura Patrick is third in three-pointers (2.6); Desiree Wylie is fourth in rebounding (8.3); and Patrick is eighth in scoring (15.2).
