In a bruising battle that went back-and-forth for most of the game, women's rugby emerged with a 15-6 victory over Davenport Saturday evening at Hunter Stadium in St. Charles, Mo.
 
Seeing their first live action of the spring, the Lady Lions had to shake off some cobwebs, but fell into rhythm quickly, showing strong defense, good tackling, and solid teamwork.  Tianna Camous put Lindenwood on the board with a try in the first half, which was countered by two penalty kicks for the Panthers, who went to halftime with a 6-5 lead.
The second half belonged to the Lady Lions, despite several key injuries, as they held Davenport scoreless while getting tries from Joyce Taufa and Gioanna Cruz.   
 
Head coach Billy Nicholas was complementary of his team after the win.
 
"The forwards stepped up big and the back line worked very hard as well," he said.  "I'm proud of how everyone played as a team.  We had unselfish players and they gave it their all.  We still have some things to work on moving forward, but we will continue to make those adjustments as the season progresses."
 
With the victory, the Lady Lions improved to 13-3 overall for the season.  They'll switch gears for 7's competition moving forward, beginning with the Nebraska 7's Tournament March 28-29 in Wayne, Neb.