ST. CHARLES, MO. - The Lindenwood women's basketball team was defeated at SIUE by a final score of 63-74 on Saturday afternoon. 

"I am proud of the effort we played with today," said Head Coach Katie Falco. "This is an area we can control, and our ladies did a great job competing. We just need to put 4 quarters of scoring together."

GAME OVERVIEW
The Lions got off to a bit of a slow start against the Cougars, unable to break the double digit scoring mark throughout the first quarter of play. After baskets from Emily Benzschawel, Masyn McWilliams and Alana Striverson, Lindenwood trailed 6-17 heading into the second. 

The second quarter was much better for the Lions, who added 14 more points to their total thanks to Devin Fuhring knocking down five, and Makayla Wallace putting herself on the board along with more from Benzschawel and Striverson. The Cougars answered back with 16 more points, however, leaving the Lions in a 13-point deficit right before halftime. 

An interesting aspect of this game was that neither team was able to hit a three-pointer, with the Lions going 0-19 from outside the arc and the Cougars 0-12. Made three-pointers have been a large part of Lindenwood's offensive successes so far this season, so an adjustment had to be made from the floor in order to compensate. 

SIUE didn't let the Lions catch up much despite the visiting squad dropping a game-high 25 points in the third quarter. The Cougars responded with 26 more points, maintaining their lead for yet another quarter. Benzschawel had a great quarter, knocking down a team-leading seven points and dishing out two assists. Fuhring and Mary McGrath each dropped six points a piece to add to the attack, while McWilliams was a rebounding machine with her team-leading four rebounds. 

McGrath would go on to hit another six points in the fourth, while Wallace heated up a bit late in the game with her five-point quarter. The Lions ended up draining 18 more points, outscoring the home team and their 15 points, but would still end up just short of a victory in the end. 

Fuhring led the way today for the Lions with her 15-point game, while also grabbing five rebounds and dishing out one assist to add to her stat line against the Cougars. Benzschawel (13), McGrath (12) and Striverson (11) would all join Fuhring in the double-digits club, and McGrath also would be the top Lion in the assists category today with her three total.

McWilliams was the leading defender of the day after grabbing six boards, with Fuhring right behind her with her five total. 

GAME LEADERS
Devin Fuhring - 15 P, 5 RB, 1 A
Emily Benzschawel - 13 P, 1 RB, 2 A
Mary McGrath - 12 P, 3 RB, 3 A
Alana Striverson - 11 P, 2 RB, 2 A

UP NEXT
The Lions will return home to Hyland Arena, where they will take on fellow-GLVC foe Southern Indiana on Thursday night at 5:30 p.m.