The Lindenwood women’s basketball team narrowly lost to the Eastern Illinois State Panthers on Jan. 20 by a score of 68-60.
Lindenwood’s loss moves them to an overall record of 3-13, with a conference record of 1-5, and a home record of 3-4.
Despite the loss, the team was led by freshman Mykayla Cunningham, who scored 17 points in 28 minutes played.
Both the Lions and the Panthers got off to slow starts in the first quarter, as it ended with a score of 11-10 in favor of the Panthers. Cunningham scored three times in the opening portion of the game, second to Ellie Brueggeman, who scored four points. Freshman Mya Skoff also put up three points in the quarter.
Both teams improved on their shooting in the second half, as the Panthers scored 18 times, to the Lions’ 16, which moved the score to 29-26 entering halftime. Cunningham scored four more times in the quarter, with Skoff adding two more points of her own. Junior Mary McGrath found the basket twice, draining four points in the quarter. Additionally, three more Lions, Celina Arnlund, Kaylen Evans, and Alyssa Nielsen also scored, with Evans draining a three-pointer.
In the beginning half of play, the Lions shot nine for 22 on field goal attempts, four for 10 on three-point attempts, and seven for 10 on free throws.
Lindenwood opened up the second half with their most successful portion of the game, scoring 21 times to Eastern Illinois’s 14, putting the Lions in front 47-43 at the end of the quarter. Brueggeman led the Lions’ scoring efforts, as the freshman put up seven points. Also scoring seven points in the third was Nielsen, who had two successful free throws, and a three-pointer drained. Cunningham added four points to her game-leading total, with Arnlund adding two more points of her own. Finally, junior Justis Odom put up two points, her first of the game, on two successful free throw attempts.
However, in the fourth quarter, things fell apart for Lindenwood on both sides of the ball. The Panthers scored 25 points, to Lindenwood’s 13. Cunningham finished off her game by adding six more points, with Odom scoring four of her own, and Skoff draining another three-point shot. In the last half of the game, the Lions shot 14 for 27 with field goal attempts, five for 11 at three-point attempts, and a perfect six for six at free throws.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Lions recovered 24 rebounds, seven from Odom, and three each from Brueggeman and guard Makayla Wallace. Wallace also recorded three steals in the game, leading the team, with Odom, Cunningham, and Nielsen each having two.
The Lions now head on the road for two games, one on Jan. 25 against Little Rock, and another on Jan. 27 against UT Martin in Tennessee. The team then returns home for four straight games at the Hyland Arena, starting with a matchup with Southeast Missouri State on Jan. 30. Tipoff for that game is slated for 5 p.m.
