Lindenwood University Athletics

The Lindenwood women's basketball team used rebounding to its advantage in a 57-52 win over Northeastern State on Saturday afternoon in Hyland Arena.
 
Vanessa Zailo was a ball hawk as she grabbed 21 rebounds and a career-high 17 points for her seventh career double-double.  Kassidy Gengenbacher scored 17 points of her own, including the only two three-pointers made by the Lady Lions.  Jenny Rocha was a magician at times as he dished out six assists and put up nine points.
 
The Lady Lions started the game down 4-0, but quickly picked up their play.  Rocha jumped on the board first with a layup and the free throw.  Kylie Ferguson made back-to-back free throws that sparked a 6-0 run.  The RiverHawks made it a 9-7 game with just under three minutes to play in the first frame, and then the Lady Lions kicked it into gear.  Zailo scored a bucket down low, then Gengenbacher drained a three-pointer, and Rocha ended the first quarter with two free throws.
 
Lindenwood held Northeastern State to 1-of-13 shooting in the first quarter as the RiverHawks scored more points off of free throws than they did from the field.  Gengenbacher continued the scored for the Lady Lions with a jumper to start the second quarter.  Both teams traded buckets for the majority of the second quarter as Lindenwood held a 33-25 lead at the half.  Gengenbacher scored 10 points in the first 20 minutes and Zailo grabbed nine rebounds, including seven on the defensive end.
 
The Lady Lions had a rough third quarter which allowed Northeastern State back in the game.  The RiverHawks went on a 7-0 run to pull within three.  After a Gengenbacher bucket, Northeastern State scored four straight to make it a one-point game.  Lindenwood closed out the third quarter with a layup by Charisse Williams and three-ball by Gengenbacher to give the Lady Lions a 44-38 lead heading into the final quarter of play.
 
Both teams were held scoreless until the 6:43 mark when the RiverHawks hit back-to-back free throws.  Lindenwood could not put the game away and allowed Northeastern State to hang around late in the game.  The RiverHawks pulled within three points after a free throw shot, but a missed second attempt kept it a three-point game.  Gengenbacher put the game away by making two free throws in the final 21 seconds to help Lindenwood to a 57-52 victory.
 
Lindenwood shot 31.7 percent from the field and made just two three pointers on 13 attempts.  The Lady Lions were 15-of-18 from the free throw line, while Northeastern State was 18-of-25 from the charity stripe.  Lindenwood outrebounded the RiverHawks 52-32 and outscored Northeastern State 30-12 in the paint.  The Lady Lions put up 15 second chance points and held the RiverHawks to just one point in that category.  Rocha surpassed her 800th career point and her 300th career assist. 
 
Lindenwood picked up its sixth win of the year to improve to 6-2 overall and 2-0 in the MIAA.  The Lady Lions will stay in St. Charles, Mo. to take on Central Oklahoma on Monday for a 5:30 p.m. start in Hyland Arena.