The Lindenwood Lions women’s basketball team (21-9, 16-4 OVC) advanced to their first ever Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) championship game on Friday, with a thrilling 86-75 win over the Western Illinois Leathernecks (16-16, 8-12 OVC) ending their season.
Mya Skoff was electric for the Lions scoring a career-high 22 points, including 18 in the second half, in the win. She was able to outduel Leathernecks star Raegan McCowan, who led all scorers with 35 points. Skoff hit three three pointers and was 7/8 from the foul line and also had a team-high four steals. Lindenwood had nine steals and seven blocks as a team.
Mykayla Cunningham tallied 15 points off the bench and overcame a third quarter ankle injury to also finish with six rebounds, three assists and two steals. Lindenwood’s bench outscored the Leathernecks bench 31-0. Gracie Kelsey (nine points) and Alyssa Nielsen (seven points) also contributed off the bench.
Ellie Brueggemann (13 points) and Brooke Coffey (12 points) were the other two Lions in double-figures with Brueggemann also having nine rebounds, four assists, two steals and a team-high four blocks.
Both teams got off to slow starts in the first quarter, as Lindenwood led 10-9 at the media timeout with four minutes left to play in the first. McCowan accounted for all nine of the Leathernecks points while Coffey had seven of the Lions first 10 but did tally two fouls which forced her to sit all of the second quarter. Nielsen would drill a three pointer before the Leathernecks would go on a 10-2 run to end the opening frame and take a 19-15 lead into the second quarter. McCowan led all scorers with 13 in the opening quarter.
McCowan led the Leathernecks charge in the second growing Western Illinois lead to 28-19. However, Lindenwood would come storming back led by Nielsen who would cap off an 8-0 run with a layup to cut the lead to one with 4:47 left. Western Illinois would have the answer for any Lions basket as after Gracy Wernli was fouled shooting a three and converting all three free throw attempts once again cutting the lead to one at 32-31, Kelsey would bury a three of her own to tie the game at 34 before an old fashioned three point play from Allie Meadows and a Cunningham layup saw the Leathernecks take a 37-36 lead into the locker room.
The Lions came out scorching hot going on a 9-0 run to take a 45-37 lead after a Skoff three pointer. McCowan and the Leathernecks would not back down as they roared back with a 14-4 run of their own to take a 51-49 lead as neither team was able to miss in the third quarter. Cunningham and Skoff would take over down the stretch for the Lions trying to outduel McCowan, who continued to play out of her mind, as the third quarter ended with the Lions up 61-60. Lindenwood outscored Western Illinois 25-23 in the quarter and Cunningham and Skoff combined for 13 of Lindenwood’s 25 points. There were nine lead changes and four ties in the quarter as this semifinal game headed into its final quarter of play.
Lindenwood continued their hot play as they went on an 8-2 run to start the fourth including a pair of three from Skoff. Western Illinois would cut the lead back to three at 71-68 before another 6-0 Lions run put Lindenwood up nine at 77-68. The Leathernecks made one final push with under two to play cutting the lead to four at 77-73 but the Lions ended the game on a 9-2 run capped off by a pair of Brueggemann free throws sealing 86-75 win for the Lions, punching their ticket to the OVC championship game.
“We had so many women show up tonight and make plays on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball. This team is not rewriting history, they are writing it and that’s pretty special,” Head Coach Amy Eagan said after the win.
Lindenwood now gets ready to face top seeded Tennessee Tech who’s riding a 16 game winning streak in the OVC Championship with all the marbles on the line. The game is set to tip at 3 p.m. streaming exclusively on ESPN+.
