Lindenwood Notes

• With three games remaining in the regular season, the Lady Lions are situated as the eighth seed for the upcoming MIAA Tournament. The top four teams in the tournament receive first-round byes. Seeds 5-8 host games in the first round. At 7-9 in conference play, the Lady Lions are a half-game ahead of tonight's opponent, Northwest Missouri (6-9). If the Bearcats beat the Lady Lions in Maryville, Mo., they will have swept the two games and have the tiebreaker and upper hand to host in the first round.

• Northwest Missouri beat Lindenwood 70-59 at Hyland Arena on Jan. 30. The Lady Lions' loss was on the heels of upsetting Central Missouri, ranked eighth in the country at the time. The Bearcats led the Lady Lions by as many as 18 points and several Lindenwood players were in foul trouble. Guard Jenny Rocha fouled out for the Lady Lions. Guards Marissa Lehnig, Dru Haertling and Kassidy Gengenbacher all had four fouls for the Lady Lions.

• The Lady Lions are 3-5 in conference road games this season. The Bearcats are 7-6 in home games.

• The Lady Lions are in a solid spot to receive a seed in the MIAA Tournament, but they haven't clinched yet, although they've won three more conference games than Nebraska-Kearney. If the Lady Lions win two of their last three games, they are in the tournament, regardless of what Nebraska-Kearney (4-11 in MIAA games) does. If the two teams finish tied for 12th, Nebraska-Kearney would get into the tournament based on its 78-71 win over the Lady Lions on Dec. 20. Nebraska-Kearney plays MIAA co-leader Emporia State Wednesday, and has to travel to play Fort Hays State (16-6 overall, 11-1 at home) Saturday.

• The Lady Lions possess the top two three-point shooters in the MIAA. Junior Morgan Johnson is first in the conference, shooting a robust .451 from three-point range. Freshman Kassidy Gengenbacher moved into second place in the MIAA at .422 after a 4 for 9 performance against Central Missouri Saturday. None of the other players in the MIAA are above .382 from that range.

• Gengenbacher is among the conference leaders in scoring average, steals and free-throw percentage. She leads the Lady Lions with 14.7 points -- eighth in the MIAA -- is second in free throw percentage (.824) and sixth in steals (1.8). In conference games, she averages 15.6 points.

• After making 4 of 5 shots against Central Missouri Saturday, Johnson is shooting 50 percent from the field (65-130). Whether it's from the baseline, top of the arc, or NBA range, Johnson is adept at sinking threes when the Lady Lions need an offensive boost.

• Freshman guard Traci Keller scored a season-high five points and made the first three-point basket of her college career against Central Missouri. Despite limited playing time this season, Keller appears confident when she handles the ball.

• Senior guard Marissa Lehnig played in her 100th game with the Lady Lions Saturday. In her four year career with Lindenwood, Lehnig has 902 points, 344 rebounds, and has made 313 of 707 shots (.443). Her career high for points in a game is 25, set against Oakland City in 2012.

• The Lady Lions have played better in the second half of most games this season, scoring 136 points more than in the first half of all games. However, they are 0-10 when trailing at halftime.

• One of biggest disparities for the Lady Lions is their three-point offense and defense. They are first in the MIAA with an average of .355 from beyond the arc, and last in defending the trey at .343.

Last Time Out

• The Lady Lions limited the MIAA's leading scorer, senior Keuna Flax, to 13 points in the game, seven below her season average. But Central Missouri guards BreAnna Lewis and point guard Breonna Embray combined for 37 points as the Jennies ended the half on a 18-2 run and ran away with a 88-69 victory Saturday at Hyland Arena. Lewis scored a game-high 22 points on 10 of 14 shooting from the field, and Embray sank as many shots (5) from three-point range as she had all season.

• After shooting 55 percent in their previous two games, the Lady Lions made 39.1 percent of their shots against the Jennies. The Lady Lions did have success from three-point range, making 11 of 22 shots, but the Jennies were also 50 percent from there at 12 of 24.

• Freshman Kassidy Gengenbacher led the Lady Lions with 16 points, but was just 4 of 13 from the field. Junior Morgan Johnson was the other Lindenwood player to reach doubel figures in points with 13.

Northwest Missouri Notes

• The Bearcats' four-game winning streak was snapped Feb. 12 in a 64-60 overtime loss to Missouri Southern. It was the third time this season the Bearcats played in overtime, going 1-2. The winning streak started with a win against tonight's opponent, Lindenwood.

• Junior guard Ariel Easton is fourth in the MIAA in scoring average. Easton averages 16.1 points. She's made 120 of 302 shots (.397) and leads the team with 44 three-point baskets.

• Like Lindenwood guard Kassidy Gengenbacher, the Bearcats have one of the top freshmen in the MIAA. Point guard Shelby Mustain is big (6-foot-2) for her position and fourth in the conference in blocked shots at 1.5 per game. The Jefferson City High graduate has started 17 of 22 games and averages 6.1 points and 5.5 rebounds.