The Lindenwood women's basketball team lost its seventh consecutive game on Thursday night to Pittsburg State in Hyland Arena by a final of 87-74.
 
The Lady Lions scored over 70 points for the first time in five games.  Jenny Rocha had a strong night with 26 points on 9-of-17 shooting from the field and 8-of-12 from the free throw line.  Kassidy Gengenbacher dropped 18 tough points with a team-high eight rebounds.  Lindenwood was outrebounded  36-26 and allowed 10 three-pointers from the Gorillas.
 
The Lady Lions did not have a good start to the evening as Pittsburg State tallied a 19-9 lead after the first quarter.  The Lady Lions turned the ball over seven times and shot just 36 percent from the field.  Just three Lindenwood players scored in the opening frame, including five points from Rocha.  The Gorillas scored 12 points in the paint and had six bench points.
 
Lindenwood addressed the ball security issue and committed just four turnovers for the rest of the game.  The Lady Lions came out with a huge second quarter that began with a 6-0 Lindenwood run.  Gengenbacher hit two free-throws and a layup, while Charisse Williams knocked down a jumper to bring Lindenwood within four points.  Pittsburg State quickly put a buffer on its lead by widening the gap to 11 in a matter of a few minutes.  The Gorillas continued to hold a comfortable lead for the remainder of the half, but a Bri Wilber three-pointer with 46 seconds left pulled Lindenwood within seven at the end of the half.
 
Rocha was determined to bring Lindenwood back as she hit jumper, and Williams followed with back-to-back free-throws to make it a 37-34 ball game.  In the next 1:30, Gengenbacher and Kylie Ferguson hit back-to-back, but the Gorillas continued to score and Lindenwood was still down by two points.  Pittsburg State scored seven second-chance points in the quarter, which allowed for a 10-point lead for the Gorillas at the end of the third quarter.
 
Gengenbacher hit her third and final three-pointer of the game just 15 second into the final quarter to pull Lindenwood within seven.  The three-point shooting for the Gorillas proved to be too much for the Lady Lions down the stretch.  The Lady Lions tallied just five three-pointers in the game while Pittsburg State had 30 points from behind the arc.
 
Rocha compiled her second-career 20-plus point game on the season as well as in her career.  Rocha hit eight free-throws which has put her just three makes away from entering the top-10 in school history.  Gengenbacher is six three-point makes away from taking sole possession of first place in school history for career-three-pointers made.
 
The loss sets Lindenwood back to 7-11 on the year and 3-9 in the MIAA.  The Lady Lions will return to action on Saturday when they take on Missouri Southern at 1 p.m. in Hyland Arena.