The Lindenwood women's basketball team (5-5) closed out the 2021 portion of the season with a 75-59 win over Michigan Tech (8-4) on Sunday afternoon inside Hyland Arena in St. Charles, Mo.
 
GAME OVERVIEW
The Lions took a 4-2 lead in the first three minutes of the game, but Michigan Tech hit a stretch of seven straight points to take the lead.  The Huskies were up by four points at the end of the first quarter, but the Lions turned things around in the second frame.  Ellen McCorkle put the Lions back in front at the eight-minute mark by a score of 18-17.
 
Lindenwood built a lead of 11 after Emily Benzschawel and Devin Fuhring hit back-to-back three pointers.  Fuhring knocked down another three-pointer near the end of the half, giving Lindenwood a 37-28 lead at the break.
 
The Lions added to their lead early in the second half, as a made jumper by Julia Ruzevich made it a 13-point lead.  Michigan Tech pulled within seven points, but Lindenwood stayed hot on the offensive end and went up by 17 points with 58 seconds to go in the third quarter.
 
McCorkle continued the efficient shooting in the fourth quarter, as her three-point bucket was followed up by a long shot from Fuhring to make it a 59-42 lead.  After building a lead as large as 20 point, Lindenwood worked hard on both ends of the floor to maintain a comfortable lead.  The Lions hit six of their seven made free-throws in the fourth quarter alone.  Lindenwood held on for the 16-point lead to end the calendar year.
 
Ruzevich tallied another double-double, as she posted 24 points with 13 rebounds.  Fuhring joined the 1,000 point club on Sunday, as she is just the fifth player in program history to register 1,000 points since joining the NCAA.
 
GAME LEADERS
Julia Ruzevich (24 PTS, 13 REB, 3 STL, 2 AST, 1 BLK)
Devin Fuhring (21 PTS, 4 REB, 2 AST, 2 STL, 1 BLK)
Hennessey Handy (10 PTS, 6 REB, 2 STL, 2 BLK)
 
UP NEXT
Lindenwood rest up for two weeks, before getting back to action on Sunday, January 2 to take on Truman State at 1:00 p.m. in Kirksville, Mo.