The Lindenwood women's basketball team (23-7, 15-4 OVC) head to Macomb, Ill. for a big matchup with OVC leader Western Illinois (24-4, 16-4 OVC) to close out the regular season. With a win, the Lions and Leathernecks would be co-Ohio Valley Conference regular season champions. Tip-off is set for 1:00 p.m.
 
The Black and Gold extended its win streak to seven during their last time out in an 80-43 wire-to-wire victory. The Lions shot 54 percent from the field, marking the 12th time this season that they have hit at least 50 percent of their shots during a game, going 11-1 on such occasions. Lindenwood also knocked down 59 percent of its attempts from beyond the arc, making 13 of them.
 
Alyssa Nielsen drilled a career high five of them on her way to a 17-point night which was one shy of her career best. The Bixby, Okla. native also added six rebounds and added four steals, also a career high. This is the fourth time this season that she has scored in double figures.
 
Nielsen was one of four players with 10 or more points on the night, marking the sixth time in seven games that the Lions have had four or more players score in double figures. Brooke Coffey added 14, followed by Aleshia Jones and Valerie Norwood with 12.
 
Coffey flirted with a triple double adding nine rebounds and seven assists to her stats line. Gracie Kelsy also dished out seven dimes which was a career high. The Lions finished the night with 25 assists on 30 made field goals. This is the third time this season in which the Lions have amassed 25 assists in a game. The Black and Gold currently lead the OVC in assists per game at 16.3.
 
The 12 points for Norwood were a season and career high as she shot 5-of-10 from the field and had three rebounds and two assists. The Lions got great production from their bench who provided 39 points and nearly outscored the Panthers alone.
 
Lindenwood stymied the Panthers offensively, holding Eastern Illinois to 43 points on the night, which is tied for the lowest total surrendered to a conference opponent this season. The Lions rank third in the OVC in total defense, giving up an average of 60.4 points per game. Overall, the Black and Gold held EIU to 33 percent shooting from the field.
 
The Lions will be looking to win their eighth game in a row heading into the conference tournament. Lindenwood has already matched last season's win total with 23 and another victory would make them co-regular season champions with the Leathernecks.
 
In a meeting earlier this season, Western knocked off Lindenwood 74-65 inside Hyland Arena. Mia Nicastro had 23 points for the Leathernecks, while Coffey had 16 for Lindenwood.

NUMBERS TO KNOW
26: 26 is the amount of home wins Lindenwood has had over the last two seasons, compiling a 26-4 record overall

3: Lindenwood ranks third in the country in three-point percentage at 38.5 percent after hitting on 59 percent of its opportunities on Thursday

4: The Lions have been balanced offensively during the winning streak having four or more players score in double figures in six out of the seven victories