Lindenwood University Athletics

ST. CHARLES, MO. - The Lindenwood women's basketball team was defeated by the NIU Huskies in a final score of 56-67 on Monday night in Hyland Arena.

"I am proud of the fight we had tonight," said Head Coach Katie Falco. "Anytime we can force end of game scenarios, we have done things right leading up to that point. We are so close as a program. Our hard work is going to pay off. We just need to keep believing in this process."

GAME OVERVIEW
The experienced Huskies came out hot in the first period, but the Lions answered the call accordingly, keeping things at a 10-point game heading into the second. Defensively and offensively, Lindenwood looked sharp, not backing down from the visiting powerhouse. 

In the second, there was only a one-point difference between the two teams, with the Huskies knocking down 15 more points and the Lions draining 14. A couple of Paige Craft layups along with a Brooke Woodyard layup in the last couple minutes kept Lindenwood close enough, with the score standing at 28-39 going into halftime. 

NIU had the better of the play scoring-wise in the third, putting up 14 more points as opposed to the Lindenwood's eight, which came from four different Lions - Paige Craft, Mary McGrath, Devin Fuhring and Mya Davidson would each knock in a basket a piece before the fourth. 

Lindenwood showed quite a lot of grit in the final period of play, with lots of clean shooting and tough defense in hopes of swinging the momentum of the game back in their favor. With under five minutes remaining, Craft grabbed a steal and found Emily Benzschawel in the corner, who was heating up in the fourth. The senior guard hit a flawless three, and the score was 49-55 with 4:01 left to play.The Huskies looked to hold onto their lead, making the score 49-57 very shortly after but Benzschawel hit a pull-up jumper right away to keep the Lions in it. After various timeouts from both sides of the court, the Huskies were able to knock down their free throws on all of Lindenwood's attempts to get the ball back. 

Despite still being eased back into the game minutes-wise, Fuhring was tonight's leading scorer with 12 total points.The graduate senior also recorded the most rebounds for Lindenwood with five total and also added two assists and two steals to her stat line. Benzschawel was right behind her with 10 points on the night, certainly acting as a spark for the Lions off the bench. 

GAME LEADERS
Devin Fuhring - 12 P, 5 RB, 2 A, 2 ST
Emily Benzschawel - 10 P, 1 RB, 2 A
Alana Striverson - 8 P, 3 RB, 1 A
Masyn McWilliams - 7 P, 3 RB, 1 B, 2 ST

UP NEXT
The Lions will have a quick turnaround as they will stay at home Wednesday to host Hannibal LaGrange in Hyland Arena for a 7:00 p.m. tip off.