Game #9
Lindenwood (4-4, 0-0 OVC)
vs. Omaha (6-4, 0-0 SL)
Match Information:
Date: Saturday, Dec. 14th, 2024
Location: St. Charles, Mo.
Venue: Robert F. Hyland Arena
Tip-Off: 1:00 p.m. CT
All-Time Series: First Meeting
Last Meeting: N/A
Live Stats: Stats
Live Video: Watch

Matchup
Lindenwood women's basketball will host Nebraska-Omaha for their final non-conference game of the season on Saturday, Dec. 14th at 1:00 p.m. CT. The Lions are in the middle of a four-game home stand before the holiday break. LU is looking to end a three-game losing skid against the Mavericks. The Lions will not play a road game until the second weekend of Ohio Valley Conference play when they go to Eastern Illinois on Thursday, Jan. 2nd.

Lindenwood suffered their first home loss of the season last Saturday when they dropped a non-conference game against Alabama A&M by a final score of 58-61. LU shot 42.9% from the field against the Bulldogs while going 5-16 from deep. There was a total of 46 fouls called between the two schools including 25 against the Lions. LU was led by leading scorer Ellie Brueggemann who had 10 points on 4-11 shooting.

The Lions have been averaging 64.6 points per game this season and have scored over 70 points three times. Defensively, Lindenwood is allowing 66.6 points a night which ranks fourth in the OVC. The Lions have held opponents under 65 points five times this season.

Omaha is coming into Saturday's matchup on a five-game win streak including an overtime win over Utah State in overtime. The Mavericks are led by fifth-year head coach Carrie Banks who had led Omaha to two Summit League Championship game appearances. Banks has led her squad to a 6-4 start to the season.

Lindenwood starts Ohio Valley Conference play next Thursday, Dec. 19th against Tennessee Tech. The Lions came into the season picked seventh out of 11 teams in the OVC. Winning on Saturday vs. Omaha would secure Lindenwood's first winning record in the non-conference since joining Division I during the 2022-23 season.

Player to Watch
Justis Odom has been a solid presence down-low for the Lions this season. The senior from Indianapolis, Ind. is averaging 7.1 points per game while grabbing 5.0 rebounds a night which ranks second on the team. She has grabbed at least five rebounds five times this season and has 10 offensive rebounds for LU.

Earlier this season, Odom posted her first double-double at Lindenwood when she had 14 points and 10 rebounds in an overtime win against Evansville inside Hyland Arena. For the season, Odom is shooting 45.8% from the floor and has three double-digit scoring efforts to her name.

OVC Preseason Rankings
The Ohio Valley Conference released their 2024-25 women's basketball preseason predicted order of finish earlier this off-season. Lindenwood was selected to finish seventh after going 7-21 a season ago and 5-13 in conference. 

Lindenwood received 81 points in the preseason poll which put them in seventh heading into the season. This marks the highest ranking for a Lindenwood women's basketball team in their three seasons in the league.

The defending OVC Champions Southern Indiana Screaming Eagle were selected to win the OVC after receiving 20 of the 22 first-place votes for a total of 200 points. UT Martin finished in second (180 points, 2 first-place votes) followed by Eastern Illinois (145) and Tennessee Tech (140). Little Rock rounds out the top five followed by Western Illinois, Lindenwood, SIUE, Morehead State, Tennessee State and SEMO.

The Ohio Valley Conference also selected two 'Players To Watch" from each OVC school to start the upcoming season. Brueggemann and newcomer Coffey were tabbed as Lindenwood's players to watch for the 2024-25 season.

Scouting Omaha
The Mavericks are currently on a five-game win streak entering Saturday's game in Hyland Arena. Omaha is averaging 69.4 points per game while shooting 42.5% from the floor. They are also averaging over 5.5 threes a game and are hitting 33.3% of their three-point attempts.

Grace Cave has started all 10 games for the Mavericks and leads the team in points per game averaging 13.2. The senior guard has scored in double-figures eight times this season including a season-high 21 points against Kansas. She also had 20 points against OVC opponent Western Illinois.

Harriet Ford mostly comes off the bench for the Mavericks and is averaging a team-high 8.6 rebounds a night. In eight games this season, Ford has grabbed at least 10 rebounds three times including a season-high 15 against St. Mary's (NE). She is also averaging 8.3 points a game while shooting 50.0% from the floor.

Head Coach: Amy Eagan
Eagan was named head coach of the Lindenwood women's basketball program on March 28, 2023.

In year one under Eagan, the Lions posted a 7-21 record. Lindenwood found itself in many close games, dropping eight contests by seven points or less. The black and gold led the OVC in turnover margin at +3.68. Ellie Brueggemann had an outstanding freshman campaign, averaging 13.8 points per game, which led to second team and all newcomer selections. Makayla Wallace set a new single season program record for steals with 72. She averaged 2.6 steals per game last season, tied for tops in the conference. It also ranked 24th nationally. 
 
Eagan arrives in St. Charles, Mo. after spending three seasons as the head coach of Drury University women's basketball.  Eagan completed her 14th season as a collegiate head coach, as she had stops at Truman State, Ashford, and St. Ambrose.
 
Eagan brings a career mark of 274-151 (.645) to Lindenwood, including four-straight seasons of 23 or more wins.  Eagan has led three schools to the NCAA Division II tournament for a total of five appearances, as well as one NAIA tournament appearance.  Eagan had claimed five conference titles in her 14 years, including three-straight.

Up Next
Lindenwood starts Ohio Valley Conference play next Thursday, Dec. 19th when they host Tennessee Tech at 5:00 p.m. CT. This will also mark the Lions' third straight home basketball game. For more information go to lindenwoodlions.com.