The Lindenwood Lady Lions basketball team jumped out to an early lead at Southwest Baptist on Thursday night but could not hold on and fell 70-60.

The opening half was all Lindenwood. The Lady Lions offense was clicking and scoring at will against the Bearcats. Lindenwood led by as many as 14 in the first half. At the end of the first half Southwest Baptist hit a three at the buzzer to cut its deficit to nine at the intermission.

As good as the first half was for the visitors it was just as bad in the second half. After shooting 44 percent from the field and 67 percent from the three-point line in the opening half but the Lady Lions shot 26 percent in the final half from the field and 29 percent from behind the line in the final 20 minutes.

The Bearcats took only their second lead of the game with just over 10 minutes in the second half and never looked back. The Lady Lions were outrebounded 29-19 in the final half and also turned the ball 18 times.

Kassidy Gengenbacher led the way for Lindenwood with 28 points. Vanessa Zailo chipped in with eight points and led the team in rebounds with 13.

For the game the Lady Lions shot 36 percent from the field. Southwest Baptist won the rebounding battle 48-45 including a 19-12 margin on the offensive glass. Lindenwood also turned the ball over a total of 27 times which led to 22 points.

The loss was the Lady Lions fifth straight conference loss. Lindenwood is now 8-8 overall and 1-8 in MIAA play. There is no rest for the Lady Lions as they will come back home on Saturday to take on the Central Missouri Jennies.