The Lindenwood women's basketball lost 74-58 to No. 20 Central Oklahoma on Saturday afternoon in Hyland Arena.
 
Charisse Williams led the team with 11 points while Bre Zanders pitched in a team-high seven rebounds off the bench.  Lindenwood was impacted by its 29 turnovers and 64 percent free throw shooting.  The Lady Lion outrebounded the Bronchos 38-31 including 17 offensive rebounds.  Central Oklahoma was 16-of-22 from the free-throw line in the second half while the Lady Lions were just 9-for-13.  The Bronchos tallied 34 points in the paint to 28 for the Lady Lions.
 
Central Oklahoma jumped on the board first with a three-pointer and Williams scored the first points for Lindenwood at the 8:01 mark with back-to-back free-throws.  Hannah Reller later scored a bucket after a Jerricah Butler steal to make it a 7-5 game with 5:56 to go in the opening frame.  Lindenwood played strong defense throughout the remainder of the quarter and used the momentum to make it a 15-13 Broncho lead.  The Lady Lions shot just 27 percent from the field, but made seven free throws to stay within two points at the end the of first quarter.
 
The Bronchos jumped out to a 10-2 run in the second quarter to take a 10-point lead, but Megan Foster tallied a steal and knocked a three-pointer to cut the deficit to 25-18.  Williams scored on a layup shortly after to make it a five-point game nearing the midway point of the second quarter.  Both teams picked up the shooting from long-range, but the ball bounced in favor of the Bronchos towards the end of the half.  Butler hit a buzzer-beater to end the half as Central Oklahoma held a 34-28 lead.  Williams led the team at the half with seven points while Alex Haley compiled five rebounds.
 
Lindenwood struggled to take the momentum in the early portion of the second half and the Bronchos built a 10-point lead at the 7:21 mark with a 40-30 advantage.  The Lady Lions had multiple opportunities to cut into the Broncho lead, but after a possession of three offensive boards resulted in a turnover.  Lindenwood stayed the course and fought back to pull within six points in the final five seconds, but back-to-back free-throws by Central Oklahoma kept the Bronchos in front 49-41 heading into the last quarter.
 
Central Oklahoma showed no signs of slowing down as it went on a 15-5 run in the first four minutes of the fourth quarter.  Lindenwood continued to fight back to the end, but the debt was too much to overcome.  The Lady Lions had 34 points from the bench and tallied 10 steals and 10 assists in the 74-58 loss.
 
Lindenwood falls to 5-8 on the season and 1-5 in the MIAA while No. 20 Central Oklahoma moves to 13-1 on the year and 5-1 in the conference.  The Lady Lions will hit the road for a 5:30 p.m. game against Missouri Southern on Thursday night in Joplin, Mo.