The Lindenwood women's basketball team (3-1) used a strong second half to defeat Kansas City (1-3) by a score of 80-71 on Monday night from Hyland Arena

GAME OVERVIEW
It was a back-and-forth game early as Kansas City led 9-8 at the first media timeout. The Roos came out of the break on a mini 9-4 run to lead 18-12 after one quarter.

UMKC led by as many as eight early in the second quarter, but a three pointer by Mya Skoff cut the deficit to one at 22-21 with 6:35 to go in the middle frame. Another three from Ellie Brueggemann a few minutes later made the score 27-26 in favor of the Roos midway through the second. UMKC took a 33-31 lead into the locker room. Brooke Coffey paced the Lions with nine points, five rebounds, and four assists.

Lindenwood tied the game at 39 after a Gracie Kelsey layup just over three minutes into the third quarter, but Kansas City pushed back to go up as much as six late in the period. However, Coffey drilled a three on the final possession of the quarter to cut the deficit to 53-50 after 30 minutes of play.

The Lions tied the game at 55 with a three pointer from Brueggemann two minutes into the fourth. After a stop, Mya Skoff buried a wing three late in the shot clock to give the Lions a 58-55 lead. A Kansas City three tied the game, but back-to-back buckets from Aleshia Jones, followed by a two from Coffey gave the Lions its largest lead at 65-58 halfway through the final period. Lindenwood maintained a slight edge, but the dagger came from Skoff who drilled a three to make the score 78-69 with less than a minute to go. The Black and Gold picked up their third-straight home win to begin the season by a score of 80-71. Coffey finished the night with a career-high 24 points. 

GAME LEADERS
Brooke Coffey (24 points, 11-of-14 FG, 10 rebounds, 8 assists)
Mya Skoff (17 points, 6-9 FG, 4 rebounds, 2 assists)
Aleshia Jones (16 points, 7-12 FG, 2 rebounds, 1 assist)

UP NEXT
The Lions head to Omaha, Neb. for a matchup with Omaha on Saturday. Tip-off is set for 1:00 p.m.