Women's water polo split four games as host of a conference crossover weekend in the Midwest Division March 25-26 at the St. Peters Rec-Plex in St. Peters, Missouri. The Lady Lions topped Saint Louis University and Illinois State, but lost to Grand Valley State and McKendree.
In the first game of the weekend, Lindenwood ended a seven game losing streak with a 20-3 victory over the Billikens. The Lady Lions jumped on top early and led 5-0 after the first quarter and kept the offensive and defensive pressure on SLU the whole game. Michal Andreatta led the team with five steals, Dani Rust had four, and Quincy Winship, Vladislava Milutinovic, and Abby VerMeer each had three. Heather Rosson was the team leader in assists with five and Andreatta added four to the cause. VerMeer scored six goals for Lindenwood while Andreatta and Conner each had four. Milutinovic scored three times and Winship hit the back of the cage twice.
The Lady Lions faced No. 5 ranked Grand Valley State in the second game and fell 13-7. The Lakers started quickly with the first three goals of the match, but Lindenwood found the next two markers to trail 3-2 after the first quarter. It was another low scoring quarter in the second, but the Lady Lions scored one more
than Grand Valley State and the game went to halftime tied at five. Lindenwood wasn't able to contain the Lakers offense in the final two quarters and they pulled away for the final margin. VerMeer paced the Lady Lions with three goals, followed by Conner with two. Delaney Simmons netted her first shot of the season and Andreatta also scored once. Rosson and Milutinovic each had two assists.
Lindenwood finished its first day of competition with a 20-5 win over Illinois State. After a tough battle the game before, the Lady Lions rebounded nicely and opened up a 10-1 lead in the first half. Lindenwood continued to play strong defense and counter attack well to seal the victory. Andreatta was the top goal scorer with nine. Conner and Milutinovic each had three markers, VerMeer two, and Rosson one. Marina Vela also scored her first goal of the season for the Lady Lions.
In the lone game for Lindenwood on Sunday, the Lady Lions played even with McKendree, taking the Bearcats to overtime, but ultimately lost 14-12. McKendree was the stronger team in the first two quarters and opened up a 9-4 advantage by halftime, but Lindenwood made a game of it and only trailed 10-8 after the third. The comeback continued in the final quarter and with one minute remaining in regulation, the Lady Lions trailed by just one. As the clock was winding down, Milutinovic fired a shot from just outside the five-meter line that tied the contest at 12. A Lindenwood hard press the last 35 seconds sent the game to a pair of extra three minute sessions of overtime. The Lady Lions had multiple shots, but were unable to capitalize while the Bearcats managed a goal in each of the extra frames to take the victory. Andreatta led the Lindenwood offense with seven markers. VerMeer added three and Milutinovic added two. Rust played a strong game in goal with nine saves and four steals from the position. She, Conner, and Rosson each had three assists.
With the two wins and two losses, the Lady Lions moved to 5-12 overall and improved to 3-4 in conference play. After an idle weekend, they return to action for the Miami Water Polo Invitational April 8-9 at the Rec Center in Oxford, Ohio. Lindenwood is scheduled to play Notre Dame, Grand Valley State, and host Miami University (Ohio).
