KYLE RHINE | Reporter

The women’s basketball team lost its fifth consecutive game on Saturday night as Central Missouri defeated the Lions 80-73 in Warrensburg, Missouri.

Lindenwood had a 42-41 lead going into the halftime with both teams shooting above 50 percent from the field. The Lions shot 17-29 for 58.6 percent while the Jennies shot 16-31 for 51.6 percent.

In the second half, the Jennies would outscore Lindenwood 39-31 as the Lions lost their eighth conference game on the season.

“We had energy and intensity working for us,” sophomore Gabby Walker said. “We were hitting some nice outside shots and getting some good looks in the paint.”

The Lions had three players scoring in double figures. Guard Sara Ross shot 4-4 from the field for 11 points and forward Gabby Walker tallied 17 points on 8-13 shooting.

Forward Kallie Bildner led the Lions in points, scoring 19 points shooting 8-12 from the field. Bildner led both teams with nine rebounds.

Lindenwood out-rebounded the Jennies 35-26, but once again it was the turnovers that cost the Lions.

The Lions committed 24 turnovers which led to Central Missouri having 23 points off turnovers.

After starting the season 7-3, the Lions have gone 3-6 and continue to struggle in conference play. Lindenwood is 2-8 against conference opponents and hasn’t won a conference game since Jan. 4, which came against Northeastern State, who has just one win on the season.

Lindenwood looks to get back on track when they face conference opponent Nebraska Kearney on Jan. 25 at 5:30 p.m. at Hyland Arena.

“We are going to work on working together better,” Walker said. “We are doing good now, but if we improve this, we should be able to get out of this slump.”