The Lindenwood women's basketball team upset No. 16 Central Missouri on Saturday afternoon in Warrensburg, Mo. by a final of 69-67.
 
Jerricah Butler came through in the clutch after hitting the go-ahead layup with two seconds left and knocked down the bonus free-throw to give Lindenwood the two-point victory.  Butler finished the game with 17 points and three rebounds while Sara Ross and Kallie Bildner each scored 14 points.  Bildner recorded yet another double-double after she totaled 11 boards on the day.  Lindenwood shot 47 percent from the field and made 16-of-19 free-throws while outrebounding the Jennies 42-31.
 
Both teams struggled to generate offense in the early going, but Lindenwood found a10-7 edge with 5:36 to go in the first quarter.  The two squads traded buckets back-and-forth as the Jennies used the three-pointer to stay within striking distance.  The Lady Lions held a 19-17 lead after the first frame as Butler and Bildner shouldered the majority of the offensive production.
 
Central Missouri quickly tied the game and took at three-point lead just 1:18 into the second quarter, however, the Lady Lions responded with a big three-pointer by Ross to tie the game at 22-22.  Less than a minute later, Megan Foster hit a three-pointer of her own to put Lindenwood back in front and sparked a big run by the Lady Lions.  Bildner tallied a layup in the paint and Butler knocked down a deep shot to give the Lady Lions an eight-point advantage with 6:58 to go in the first half.
 
Lindenwood attacked the paint and got to the free-throw line to generate a 15-point lead heading into the half.  The Lady Lions took a 43-28 lead into the break with the help of a 57.7 field goal percentage and shot 3-for-5 from behind the arc.  Beth Maenpaa was a perfect 4-for-4 from the free-throw line while the Lady Lions were 10-for-12 as a team.
 
Bildner wasted no time getting on the board in the second half as she scored the first two buckets for Lindenwood and put the team up by 17 points with 8:31 remaining in the third quarter.  Lindenwood held the double-digit buffer for the majority of the quarter, but the Jennies kept fighting back and cut into the deficit.  Central Missouri pulled as close as eight points, although the Lady Lions closed out the quarter with a 58-46 lead after knocking down back-to-back free-throws.
 
The Lady Lions slowly fell apart in the fourth quarter after turnovers led to points for the Jennies and the Lindenwood offense scored just four points in the first seven minutes of the final frame.  The Lady Lions held a three-point lead with 30 seconds to go in the game, but a three-point play by the Jennies tied the game at 66-66.  Central Missouri forced a turnover and got to the free-throw line with 10 seconds to go in the game.  The Jennies missed the front end of the bonus before knocking down the second free-throw to take a 67-66 lead.  Lindenwood called a timeout to draw up a play and Butler took the ball to the rack, made the layup to give the Lady Lions the lead, and drew the foul.  Butler hit the bonus free-throw and Lindenwood held on for the thrilling 69-67 upset win over No. 16 Central Missouri.
 
Head Coach Tony Francis was thrilled with the upset victory on the road at a much needed time in the season.
 
"I am proud of the resiliency the ladies displayed today against a great opponent," said Francis.  "We continue to emphasize rising above adversity and they certainly did that today."
 
Lindenwood improves to 11-14 on the year and 6-11 in the MIAA while the Jennies fall to 20-5 on the season and 13-4 in conference play.  The Lady Lions travel to Maryville, Mo. on Thursday to take on Northwest Missouri at 5:30 p.m.