The Lindenwood women's basketball team earned a victory over the defending NSIC Champions Northern State by a final of 77-60 to complete a two-day stay in Wayne, Neb.
 
The Lady Lions had five players with double-digit points with a 51.7 shooting percentage from the field and 9-of-18 from behind the arch.  Kylie Ferguson led the team with 16 points, while Charisse Williams, Kassidy Gengenbacher, and Bri Wilber each had 14 points.  Jenny Rocha rounded out the top five with a 10-point game.
 
Lindenwood played a back-and-forth first quarter to start the game, but found itself down 14-11.  Northern State outscored the Lady Lions in the paint 8-4 including two second-chance points.  Right out of the gates Wilber knocked down a three-pointer to tie the game at 14-14 to start the second quarter.  That would spark a huge run for the Lady Lions as they spent over eight minutes scoring baskets and did not allow Northern State to score.
 
In that span, Wilber hit two three-pointers and totaled eight points, while Gengenbacher knocked down a trey and finished the run with six points.  Williams, Rocha, and CeCe Rapp pitched in with 11 combined points as Lindenwood went on a 25-0 run to take a 36-14 lead.  Beth Maenpaa scored four points in the final two minutes and Gengenbacher knocked down another three with just seconds left to give the Lady Lions a big 43-19 lead at the half.
 
Lindenwood kept a solid lead to start the second half and the Ferguson show began.  In the third quarter, Ferguson knocked down three three-pointers and a bucket in the paint for a total of 11 points.  The Lady Lions held a 61-42 lead, but did not let up in the fourth quarter.  Ferguson began the fourth quarter with a three ball and Gengenbacher scored the next five Lindenwood points.  The Lady Lions would continue to hold their ground and cruised to a 77-60 win over Northern State.
 
The points in the paint were deadlocked at 26-26, but the Lady Lions outscored Northern State 18-2 on fast break points, and 24-11 off of turnovers.  Lindenwood was outrebounded, but saw eight rebounds from Vanessa Zailo, and Gengenbacher grabbed five boards.  Overall, Head Coach Tony Francis was happy with the effort from his team.
 
"I am very proud of how the ladies responded today," said Francis.  "I thought they played to prove to themselves that they should have won yesterday."  He continued, "Northern State was a 26-win team a year ago and they threw some punches at us in the second half, but we stayed tough."
 
With the win Lindenwood improves to 1-1 on the year.  The Lady Lions will take on local foe Missouri-St. Louis on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. in St. Louis, Mo.