The Lindenwood women's basketball team lost a heartbreaker to Lincoln on Tuesday night by a 71-67 final in overtime in Hyland Arena.
 
Alex Haley led the squad with 17 points and grabbed five boards while Kallie Bildner registered 13 rebounds and added nine points.  Megan Foster picked up 11 rebounds and dropped nine points while CeCe Rapp scored eight points with 10 boards and posted two blocks.  Lindenwood outrebounded the Blue Tigers 58-37 and scored 26 points in the paint while shooting 32 percent from the field.
 
Both teams played a back-and-forth style game in the early going as Lincoln held a 7-6 lead after four minutes of play.  Lindenwood turned the ball over on consecutive possessions and allowed Lincoln to take an 11-8 lead with less than five minutes to play in the first quarter.  The Lady Lions pulled within one point at the 2:53 mark after Hannah Reller scored her sixth point of the game.  Haley put Lindenwood up 15-14 after a layup, but the Blue Tigers finished the half strong and held a 17-15 lead after the first 10 minutes.  Lindenwood scored 14 points in the paint, but allowed Lincoln to score seven points off of five turnovers.
 
Lincoln earned points late in the shot clock in the first five minutes of the second quarter while Lindenwood picked up much needed points at the free-throw line.  Bre Zanders put up a nice mid-range jumper to put Lindenwood up 28-25 as it was followed by a Reller steal and a Haley layup to give Lindenwood a five-point advantage with 2:36 remaining in the half.  Haley picked up a big steal late in the half that and later hit a half-court shot to end the first half and give Lindenwood a 36-25 lead.  The Lady Lions ended the first 20 minutes on a 12-0 run and held Lincoln to just three points in the final four minutes.  Lindenwood scored 18 points in the paint and outrebounded the Blue Tigers 23-15 while shooting 43 percent from the field.
 
The Blue Tigers responded well to start the second half and pulled within six points at the 7:54 mark of the third quarter.  Both teams were flat on the offensive ends and Lincoln continued to cut into the Lindenwood lead as it was 38-34 with less than five minutes to go in the third frame.  The Lady Lions scored just their fourth point of the second half more than seven minutes into the third quarter and Lincoln pulled within one point, forcing Lindenwood to take a timeout.  The Blue Tigers made run to end the quarter and took a 44-41 lead over the Lady Lions.
 
Reller picked up a big steal and 30 seconds later Foster knocked down a three-pointer to put Lindenwood up 48-47.  Lindenwood and Lincoln struggled on the offensive end for the next three minutes as the game was tied 49-49 with 4:22 to go in regulation.  Foster hit a big three-pointer at the 3:27 mark to give the Lady Lions a slim one-point lead.  The pace of play picked up in the following possessions as the game was tied at the one-minute mark of the fourth quarter.  Both teams had great chances to pull ahead in the final minute, but the two squads were tied 58-58 and were headed to overtime.
 
Rapp scored the first five points of the overtime period to give Lindenwood a 63-58 advantage.  The Blue Tigers fought back to pull within two points with 2:28 remaining and tied the game at 65-65 just 30 seconds later.  Lincoln made two free-throws after a technical foul on Lindenwood and held a 69-67 lead with less than 20 seconds to go in the overtime period.  The Blue Tigers closed the game out with a 71-67 win in overtime.

Head coach Tony Francis was not displeased with the effort his team put forth in the final home game of the regular season.

"I'm proud of the players that were on the floor," Francis opened.  He continued, "Adversity can be a tough teacher, but this experience will guarantee success in the future."
 
Lindenwood falls to 10-14 on the season and 5-11 in the MIAA while Lincoln moves to 5-18 on the year and 4-12 in conference play.  The Lady Lions will travel to Warrensburg, Mo. on Saturday to take on Central Missouri at 1:30 p.m.