The Lindenwood women's basketball team defeated Northwest Missouri State 81-70 on Saturday afternoon in Hyland Arena on Senior Day.
 
Sara Ross led the team with 14 points and six rebounds while Kallie Bildner, Jerricah Butler, and Charisse Williams each tallied 13 points.  Lindenwood shot 44 percent from the field and made just 3-of-19 three pointers while the Bearcats were 36 percent from behind the arc.  The Lady Lions held the MIAA's leading scorer five points under her season average.  Lindenwood turned the ball over just 10 times while forcing Northwest Missouri to turn the rock over 15 times.  The Lady Lions dominated the paint with 50 points and 47 rebounds as the Bearcats scored 32 points in the paint and tallied just 32 rebounds.
 
Lindsay Medlen opened the game by knocking down back-to-back free-throws as the two teams were tied at 2-2 after the first two minutes of play.  The pace of play picked up after Northwest Missouri hit two-consecutive three-pointers and Lindenwood picked up points in the paint.  Ross put the Lady Lions back in front after a back-door pass by Bre Zanders led to a layup and a 10-8 lead for Lindenwood.  The game slowed down again as both teams struggled to find clean looks at the basket.  Williams drove to the basket and made a tough layup to put Lindenwood up 14-11 with 1:34 to go in the opening quarter.  Medlen hit a long that was reviewed, but scored as a two-pointer as Lindenwood ended the first quarter up 19-17.  The Lady Lions tallied 10 points in the paint and 15 points from the bench while the Bearcats shot 50 percent from behind the arc.
 
Zanders and Williams helped put Lindenwood up by six points to start the second frame, but the MIAA leaders in cut the lead to three.  Bildner later gave Lindenwood a seven-point lead at the 5:46 mark, but Northwest Missouri hit another long-ball to stay within striking distance.  Butler hit a big three-pointer three minutes later to get the momentum going.  CeCe Rapp put in work in the rebounding category to help keep Lindenwood in the lead, but Northwest Missouri began to find holes in the Lindenwood defense and slowly climbed back.  The Lady Lions held on to the lead through the first half and held a 38-35 advantage at the break.  Lindenwood outrebounded the Bearcats in the first half 24-19 and scored 24 points in the paint to just 12 for Northwest Missouri.  The Lady Lions shot 38 percent from the field and just 1-of-11 from three-point range while the Bearcats shot 41 percent from the field and made 5-of-11 from behind the arc.
 
Medlen opened the half with a three-pointer to put Lindenwood up by six, but the Bearcats found open lanes to the hoop on the other end of the floor to make it 41-39 after two minutes of play.  Northwest Missouri tied the game at 41-41 which sparked the Lady Lions to make a stand.  Kallie Bildner made a big three-pointer and Charisse Williams flew all over the court to get a steal and later scored a layup to lead Lindenwood to a 7-0 run in the next 1:30 of game play.  Gabby Walker fought hard in the paint and grabbed multiple offensive boards and got to the free-throw line to cap off the 9-0 run.  The Bearcats ended the run with a three-pointer to pull within six points, but the Lady Lions found their groove.  Lindenwood built a 12-point lead after an offensive rebound and the layup by Butler with 2:39 to go in the third quarter.  Northwest Missouri roared back and made a three-pointer as time expired to make it a 58-56 ballgame heading into the final quarter of play.
 
Ross scored the first bucket of the final frame to give Lindenwood a buffer and Williams took control on the offensive end to help build the lead back to seven points.  Ross drove the lane and made a great pass to Zanders for the layup and Lindenwood held a 67-58 lead with 6:58 to go in the game.  The Lady Lions fed off the energy of the crowd as all players were pitching in on both sides of the court as the team accumulated a 74-58 lead nearing the halfway point of the fourth quarter.  Lindenwood kept the pressure on through the remainder of the game and registered an 81-70 win on Senior Day.
 
Lindenwood improves to 9-12 on the season and 5-9 in the MIAA while Northwest Missouri falls to 8-12 on the year and 3-10 in conference play.  The Lady Lions will take a break from conference play on Thursday as they host Robert Morris-Springfield at 5:30 p.m. in Hyland Arena.