The Lindenwood women's basketball team lost in the first round of the MIAA tournament 71-56 to Central Oklahoma on Monday night in Edmond, Okla.
 
The Lady Lions jumped out to a quick lead after Charisse Williams picked off a pass and finished the layup to start the game.  Central Oklahoma found its stroke early on with back-to-back three-pointers, and eventually took a 9-2 lead.  Kylie Ferguson responded with a three-pointer, and Jenny Rocha made a nice dish to Beth Maenpaa to pull Lindenwood within two points.  The Bronchos to extend the lead again, but Kassidy Gengenbacher hit a three-pointer to make it a one-point ball game with five minutes to go in the first quarter.
 
Central Oklahoma went on a 6-0 run in the next three minutes, as it was finally ended on a Gengenbacher layup.  The Bronchos continued to shoot well from behind the arc, and held a 22-13 lead at the end of the first quarter.
 
Lindenwood began to claw back by pulling within seven before the Bronchos again extended their lead 10 points.  Ferguson scored on a tough layup, and completed the three-point play to pull within seven points.  The Lady Lions had a strong defensive possession that forced a shot clock violation prior to the five-minute media timeout, and Ferguson made a pass through a tight window to Vanessa Zailo for the bucket.  The Bronchos closed out the first half with the upper hand in a 31-24 lead at the half.
 
Lindenwood held the Bronchos to just nine points in the second quarter, but Central Oklahoma scored 12 points on 14 forced turnovers.  The Lady Lions scored eight second chance points, and outscored the Bronchos 14-10 in the paint.  Gengenbacher and Ferguson each had six points at the half, while Rocha had three assists, and Maenpaa had four points with four rebounds.
 
Both teams struggled in the first two minutes of the second half, but the Lady Lions kicked it into high gear by feeding Zailo down low, and fighting for any ball on the floor.  Lindenwood pulled within one point at the 6:39 mark and forced a Central Oklahoma timeout.  The Lady Lions defense was swarming the Bronchos, and Lindenwood did not let up by getting steals, forcing turnovers, which resulted in a huge momentum swing.
 
Lindenwood took its first lead of the game since the opening bucket, after Wilber made a smooth pass to Zailo crossing in the paint for the bucket and a 34-33 Lindenwood lead.  Central Oklahoma regained the lead 37-36, but Rocha made one free throw to tie the game 37-37.  Again, the Lady Lions played great defense to give them a chance at the offensive end and Ferguson took advantage with a three-pointer, giving Lindenwood a three-point lead.  The Bronchos had a shaky trip down the court that allowed Rocha to streak in for a layup and the extra shot for a six-point lead with 2:54 remaining in the third quarter.
 
Central Oklahoma found success in the offensive zone, and climbed back to a two-point deficit with 1:23 to go.  Gengenbacher hit a three-pointer to extend the Lindenwood lead, but a four-point swing at the other end of the court made it a one-possession game again.  The back-and-forth game continued through the remainder of the third quarter, and Lindenwood roared back to a 48-47 lead heading into the final quarter of play.
 
Rocha opened the final quarter with a jumper at the elbow, but a Central Oklahoma three-pointer tied the game at 50-50.  Lindenwood quickly fell into foul trouble and the Bronchos hit their three-pointers to take a 59-50 lead with over five minutes to play.  Central Oklahoma could not miss from behind the arc and hit another three-pointer to take a 12-point lead at the under-five media timeout.
 
Lindenwood could not stop the Bronchos from knocking down three-pointers as the crowed got more involved with each shot, which took the wind out of the Lindenwood sails.  The game quickly got out of hand as the Lady Lions could not climb back from the large deficit.  Gengenbacher ended with 13 points on the night while Ferguson scored 11 in the season finale.  Lindenwood had great support from seniors Rocha and Zailo.  Rocha ended her night with eight points and three assists, while Zailo grabbed 11 rebounds and scored seven points.  The Lady Lions outrebounded the Bronchos 30-18 in the paint, and scored 18 second chance points, but the 11-for-24 shooting by Central Oklahoma from behind the arc was the dagger.
 
Lindenwood ends its season with an 8-21 record after falling 71-56 in the first round of the MIAA tournament.