The Lindenwood women's basketball team (24-7, 16-4 OVC) earned the No. 2 seed in the OVC Tournament and will take on Southern Indiana (21-9, 14-6 OVC) in the semifinals on Friday at 3:30 p.m. from the Ford Center in Evansville, Ind.
 
The Lions earned a thrilling 50-49 win over Western Illinois in their last time out on February 28. The Black and Gold went up by as many as 16 and were able to stave off a furious Leatherneck rally to move its win streak to eight. The victory also secured the Lions a share of the OVC regular season crown for the first time in program history, and the first regular season conference title in the programs NCAA era.
 
Aleshia Jones, Brooke Coffey, and Ellie Brueggemann all finished the game in double figures and combined for 41 of Lindenwood's 50 points. Coffey led the way with 15 points, while Jones and Brueggemann chipped in 13. Jones and Coffey each grabbed 11 rebounds, becoming the first Lindenwood duo to record double doubles in the same game since January of 2019.
 
Gracie Kelsey continues to be a facilitator for this offense, dishing out six or more assists in three out of the last four games. So far this season, the Lions are assisting on nearly half of their made field goals on the year (49.9 percent). During the 2025-26 campaign, Lindenwood is averaging 16.1 dimes per game, which leads the OVC.
 
Lindenwood was stout defensively through three quarters, limiting the Leathernecks to 27 points across 30 minutes of play. Overall, WIU shot just 31 percent from the field in the game. On the flip side, the Lions connected on just 34 percent of their field goal attempts, the lowest percentage in a game this season.
 
This will be the third meeting this season between the Lions and Screaming Eagles with Lindenwood winning the first two. The Black and Gold defeated USI, 75-65 at home on January 3rd, a game in which the Lions had four double digit scores led by Brueggemann and Mya Skoff with 19. In the January 29th victory, Brueggemann had a season high 26.
 
The Black and Gold will be making its second consecutive apperance in the OVC Tournament after missing out during the first two years at the Division I level. Lindenwood made the Championship game last season as the No. 2 seed, but fell in a overtime heartbreaker to Tennessee Tech.
 
Over the past two seasons, Lindenwood has compiled a record of 47-18 under the direction of third year head coach Amy Eagan. Last season, Lindenwood set an NCAA era program record with 23 wins and enter the tournament with a new record at 24. During the last two seasons, Lindenwood has a record of 32-8 in conference play.

NUMBERS TO KNOW:
3: Lindenwood had three student-athletes earn all-conference recognition as Ellie Brueggemann and Brooke Coffey landed on the first team. Aleshia Jones garnered second team and all newcomer honors

73: The number of steals Aleshia Jones has on the year, which is a new single-season program record which was previously set by now assistant coach Makayla Wallace during the 23-24 season

2: The number of steals Aleshia Jones has on the year, which is a new single-season program record which was previously set by now assistant coach Makayla Wallace during the 23-24 season