WARRENSBURG, Mo. -- Lindenwood scored a double-double Saturday.
Not only did the Lady Lions beat No. 8 ranked and MIAA-leading Central Missouri 65-64, but they snapped the Jennies' 21-game winning streak at the Multipurpose Building. It is the biggest win of the season by the suddenly surging Lady Lions (10-7 overall, 5-5 conference) who've won two consecutive
As the final few seconds of the upset ticked down, with the Lady Lions leading by a slim point, Central Missouri junior Brielle Wattley tried to drive baseline through a Lindenwood double team but never got off a shot and Lady Lions freshman Kassidy Gengenbacher was credited with the steal.
Wattley made a layup with 1:51 left to give the Jennies a 62-61 lead. Senior Caroline Bourlioux answered with a jump shot to make the score 63-62 Lady Lions with 1:38 left. After two Jennies free throws, senior Marissa Lehnig scored to give the Lady Lions a 65-64 lead.
On the Jennies next possession, Rocha stole the ball from Wattley, but Winkelmann got a piece of Lehnig's three-point shot and the Lady Lions took timeout with 11 seconds left and possession. Bourlioux couldn't get the shot off before the shot clock expired and the Jennies had one last chance with 10.3 seconds left.
Lindenwood led 33-25 at halftime and for most of the second half. Guard Shelby Winkelmann took a pass from teammate Revonnia Howard and drained a three-point basket to cut the Lady Lions lead to 58-56 with 3:56 left to play. But that was answered with a trey by the MIAA's leading three-point shooter, junior Morgan Johnson, with an assist by sophomore Jenny Rocha.
Gengenbacher scored 17 points for the second consecutive game and led the Lady Lions in scoring and five steals. Lehnig (14 points), Bourlioux (12) and sophomore Dru Haertling (10) also scored in double figures for the Lady Lions. Haertling sank a three-pointer to give the Lady Lions a 50-42 lead with 11:20 left. She had scored eight points in the previous five games.
No. 1 Bentley 98, St. Anselm 82
WALTHAM, Mass. -- History was made at the Dana Center Saturday afternoon as Bentley's Barbara Stevens became only the sixth women's basketball coach in NCAA history to reach the 900-win plateau and Falcon senior All-America Lauren Battista became the all-time leading scorer in the storied program's history.
The 98-82 Northeast-10 Conference win against St. Anselm, Bentley's 18th without a loss this season, lifted Stevens, a 2006 inductee into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame, to 900-246 in 37 years, including 743-155 in 28 seasons with the Falcons. She's the third fastest to reach 900, behind only Pat Summitt (Tennessee) and Tara VanDerveer (Stanford).
"This was a tremendous opportunity to reflect on a career that I've been so blessed to have," Stevens said, who was able to reach 900 on the day her program was having its annual alumni day. "It's not about me, but all the tremendous players and assistant coaches we've had."
Battista, a two-time WBCA All-America and Capital One Academic All-AmericaÂŽ who now has 1,804 points, entered the game needing 17 points to eclipse Kelly Barker (1,800 from 1997-2001) for the top spot on the list and she got it done in a first half that ended with the nation's number one-ranked Division II team up 22, 58-36.
Tampa 71, No. 3 Nova Southeastern 60
TAMPA, Fla. -- Nova Southeastern suffered its first loss of the season on Saturday 71-60 to Sunshine State Conference foe Tampa.
The Sharks (15-1, 6-1 SSC) trailed by as many as 15 in the first half, and were still down 11 with 6:42 to go (50-39). A 14-5 stretch over the next four-plus minutes allowed them to cut the Tampa deficit to two, 55-53, with 2:26 remaining.
However, the Spartans (12-5, 6-2 SSC) were able to score the next six points to lead 61-53 with 54 seconds left. A Taylor Buie 3-pointer on the next possession cut it to five, but UT was 10-of-10 from the line as part of a 10-4 run to close it out.
Jasmine Wilkins had a career game in the loss, going 11-of-14 from the field and making all four of her free throws for a new best of 26 points. At one point in the first half, she scored 10 consecutive and 12 of 13 points for the Sharks. Her seven rebounds were one off the team lead of eight by Richelle Carach.
Tampa was led by Illyssa Vivo with 21, and Shamika Williams, who had a double-double of 18 points and 11 rebounds. Juliana Cavallaro added 16. The Spartans shot the same percentage overall (46.2 on 24-of-52 shooting) as they did behind the arc, going 6-for-13 from that range.
No. 4 Colorado Mesa Regis (Colo.)
DENVER -- Colorado Mesa used a balanced attack to come out on top of Regis (Colo.) 87-67 on Saturday afternoon in Regis Fieldhouse. The Rangers entered the game in fourth place in the RMAC standings.
Four players finished in double figures for Colorado Mesa led by Sharaya Selsor's 23 points. Selsor was 9-of-13 from the field including 3-of-4 from the three point line. She also had three rebounds and two assists.
The Maverick limited the Rangers to just 18.8 percent (6-of-32) from the field in the first half and 33.3 percent (20-of-60) for the game. The Mavericks also outrebounded the 38-33 but committed more turnovers than Regis 15-14.
Aubry Boehme finished the game with 20 points, Christen Lopez had 18 and Taylor Rock had 15 points. Siu Lo'Amanu led the Mavericks in rebounds with eight.
The Mavericks now sit at 17-0 on the season and sit atop the RMAC standings.
East Central 61, No. 6 Harding 60
ADA, Okla. -- Harding couldn't get its last second shot to fall as they dropped its first game of the year in a 61-60 overtime loss at East Central on Saturday afternoon in Great American Conference action. The loss snaps an 18 game winning streak.
The Lady Bisons fell to 18-1 on the season a 10-1 in the GAC. East Central improves to 11-6 overall and 5-5 in the GAC.
East Central was led by Erin Walling who had 20 points making 7-of-16 from the field. Alycea Price made 5-of-9 from the field and finished with 12 points.
The Lady Tigers outrebounded Harding 39-36. Dilan Webster led East Central with nine.
West Florida 65, No. 10 Delta State 58
PENSACOLA, Fla. -- Delta State fell short to West Florida to suffer its first conference loss of the season, falling by a score of 65-58. The Lady Statesmen slip to 14-2 overall and 9-1 in Gulf South Conference play, while West Florida improves to 11-5 on the season and 5-5 in league play.
The Lady Statesmen outshot the Argos from the field 41.5 percent to 40 percent. The difference maker was West Florida's 15 offensive rebounds to Delta State's 10.
