The Lindenwood women's basketball team lost 66-60 to Missouri Western on Thursday night in Hyland Arena.
 
Gabby Walker recorded her second-career double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds while Lindsay Medlen dropped 12 points with five rebounds and two assists.  Both team shot 38 percent from the field and each team tallied 28 points in the paint.  Lindenwood outrebounded the Griffons 45-35 while Missouri Western compiled 26 points off 19 Lindenwood turnovers.
 
CeCe Rapp started the game with the first three-points for the Lady Lions and Medlen put Lindenwood up 6-0 after a deep three-pointer.  Walker grabbed an offensive rebound and the put back to force a Missouri Western timeout less than two minutes into the game.  The Griffons picked up their pace of play and pulled within three-point just halfway through the first quarter.  Missouri Western tied the game a three-pointer and took a 19-18 lead with a last second three-pointer to end the first frame.  Lindenwood shot 58 percent from the field, but turned the ball over five times allowing the Griffons to score eight points.
 
Jerricah Butler opened the next ten minutes with a three-pointer and Alex Haley put Lindenwood up by four points with a tough layup down low.  Both teams played a face-paced game as quick guard play opened up the offense on both ends of the floor.  Haley gave the Lady Lions a 29-26 advantage after a contested three-pointer with 5:22 remaining in the first half.  Lindenwood struggled to produce point in the next three minutes and the Griffons took advantage to tie the game at 31-31.  Beth Maenpaa broke the tie with just over one minute to go in the half with a strong bucket in the paint.  The Lady Lions took a 35-33 lead into the half with the help of 48 percent shooting from the field.  Haley and Rapp each had a team-high seven points while Butler snagged five boards.  Lindenwood outrebounded Missouri Western 22-16 and made 6-of-9 free-throws along with 3-of-6 three-pointers.  The Griffons scored 12 points off of nine Lindenwood turnovers.
 
The two teams traded buckets for the first couple of minutes until Missouri Western took a 39-37 lead after a three-pointer at the 7:29 mark.  Medlen tied the game at the 4:34 mark after knocking down back-to-back free throws.  Missouri Western took its largest lead of the game at 47-43 as it held Lindenwood to just eight points in the third frame.  The Lady Lions saw their field goal percentage drop to 38 percent after the third quarter, but still held a five-rebound margin heading into the final quarter of play.
 
The Griffons picked up the first bucket of the fourth quarter, but the Lady Lions applied constant pressure on the offensive end to pull within two points with 7:33 to go in the game.  Missouri Western built its lead back up to 53-47 with less than five minutes to go and made it an eight-point game out of the media timeout.  Lindenwood could not string together a combination of offensive and defensive production and was down 61-52 with 1:40 to go in the game.  The Lady Lions pulled within five points with 47 seconds remaining, but Lindenwood traded layups and free-throws with the Griffons down the stretch.  Missouri Western closed out the game with 7-of-8 shooting from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter to beat Lindenwood 66-60.
 
Lindenwood falls to 8-12 on the year and 4-9 in the MIAA while Missouri Western improves to 16-5 on the season and 8-4 in conference play.  The Lady Lions will return to Hyland Arena on Saturday afternoon for a 1:30 p.m. game against Northwest Missouri in St. Charles, Mo.