ST. CHARLES, Mo. - Lindenwood women's basketball (4-4, 0-0 OVC) suffered their first home loss of the season on Saturday against the Bulldogs of Alabama A&M (5-3, 0-0 SWAC) by a final score of 61-58. The Lions are now even at 4-4 this season after the loss and will have one more non-conference game left this season next Saturday at home vs. Omaha.

This marked only the third time this season that the Lions were held to below 60 points in a game. Lindenwood shot 42.9% from the field against the Bulldogs including 5-16 from three-point range. The Lions struggled from the foul line going 11-23 (47.8%), their lowest percentage of the season.

Ellie Brueggemann was the lone Lion to score in double figures with 10 points. Brueggemann shot 4-11 from the floor including two threes. She also grabbed three rebounds and had two assists. Gracie Kelsey was just shy of her first double-double after getting nine points and nine rebounds off the bench in 22 minutes of action, her most in a game in 2024-25. Kelsey shot 4-7 from the floor while pulling down a team high in rebounds.

Mykayla Cunningham and Brooke Coffey also had nine points each in the loss. Cunningham only took three shots, but had 12 free throw attempts. She added four rebounds and a team-best four assists. Coffey shot 4-8 from the field while pulling down four boards and added three assists.

Lindenwood had their second most turnovers of the season with 19 against A&M. The Bulldogs were able to turn that into 17 points while Lindenwood had 10 points off turnovers on 21 turnovers by the Bulldogs. Alabama A&M scored 28 points in the paint compared to 30 by the Lions. Lindenwood was also out-rebounded on Saturday 37-30 including allowing 13 offensive boards.

During the first quarter, Lindenwood would lead after the first 10 minutes of action by a score of 19-16. The Lions had an early 7-2 lead with 7:35 remaining in the quarter after a layup by Cunningham. Lindenwood shot 8-17 from the field in the first quarter and were led by Cunningham and Kelsey with four points each.

Alabama A&M opened up the second quarter on a 6-0 run to take their first lead of the game at 21-19. The second quarter was back-and-forth with no team taking a bigger lead than three points. After LU trailed by two points, Mary McGrath added two huge free throws to tie the game just before halftime. Lindenwood headed into the locker room tied at 35 after shooting 41.4% from the floor. The Bulldogs went 3-6 from deep in the quarter to cut into the lead.

The third quarter was the deciding factor in the ball game as the Lions were outscored 15-12 in the period. Four minutes into the period, Lindenwood found themselves on a 6-0 to extend their lead to 41-35. Alabama A&M regained the lead at the 2:21 mark after a three by Mailyn Wilkerson. Kelsey made a tip-in layup to close out the quarter as Lindenwood trailed 47-50.

Lindenwood trailed by five early in the quarter, but a 5-0 run by the Lions tied the game at the 8:07 mark after a three from Brueggemann. A&M extended their lead back to five points after a foul shot by Alisha Wilson with 3:50 remaining. The Bulldogs eventually built a six point lead to keep the Lions out of reach. Aalyah Wilson made the final shot with one second remaining to end the game with a score of 61-58.

Lindenwood will be back in action on Saturday, Dec. 14th when they battle Nebraska-Omaha to end the non-conference schedule. Tip-off is set for 1:00 p.m. CT. For more information go to lindenwoodlions.com.