KYLE RHINE | Reporter

The women’s basketball team lost its second game in a row as it fell to Missouri Southern 71-65 Thursday night in Hyland Arena.

Lindenwood had a one-point lead going into halftime, but was outscored 23-14 in the third quarter and the Lions could never recover.

“We played extremely well, but just seemed to lose our grip in the third quarter,” guard Gabby Walker said.

With this loss the Lions are now 0-2 against Missouri Southern this season. Lindenwood lost its first matchup 78-75 on Dec. 9 in Joplin, Missouri.

Sara Ross and Lexie Moe took on the scoring responsibilities for the Lions who were without leading scorer Kallie Bildner.

Ross and Moe each shot 8-13 from the field tallying 20 points in the loss. This is the second time Ross has scored in double digits on the season. For Moe, this is the most points she has scored on the season.

The Lions outrebounded Missouri Southern 35-33 with sophomore Gabby Walker notching 10 rebounds while scoring 10 points for her fourth double-double of the season.

“We aren’t perfect at anything,” Walker said. “So to move forward, we need to work on all aspects of our game.”

Lindenwood continues to struggle in conference play as the Lions are now 2-5 in the conference and will look to improve when the Lions host Pittsburg State at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 13 at Hyland Arena.

These teams met back on Dec. 7 with Pittsburg State defeating the Lions 87-75 in Pittsburg, Kansas.