A double-double from Gracie Kelsey and solid defense down the stretch helped the Lindenwood women’s basketball team (23-10, 16-4 OVC) punch their ticket to the Super 16 round of the WNIT with a 67-59 win over Tarleton State (20-14, 10-6 WAC) away from home court.
Kelsey led all scorers with 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead the team. She was 8/9 from the foul line and grabbed five offensive boards. Lindenwood outrebounded Tarleton State, a top 20 rebounding in the country, 44-38 and had 12 offensive boards.
Ellie Brueggemann and Brooke Coffey were the other two Lions in double figures, both dropping 11 points. Brueggemann was 3/5 from downtown while Coffey was 4/5 from the charity stripe and hauled in eight rebounds of her own.
Lindenwood’s defense held the Texans to just 2/20 from downtown and 35% shooting from the field while the Lions were 7/17 from three point range and shot 40% as a team. Gracy Wernli shot it well, having nine points and going 3/5 from behind the arc in the win.
Both teams traded buckets to open the game before Brueggemann knocked down a three to give the Lions a 10-9 lead at the media timeout. After a Kyriana Jones three put the Texans up 12-10, a pair of Mya Skoff free throws and a nice layup from Kelsey would give the Lions a 14-13 lead after the first quarter.
A pair of layups from Texans post player Faith Acker would put Tarleton State back up 17-14. Brueggemann would go on a self 5-0 run by hitting a short jumper before burying a three to put Lindenwood back up 19-17 with 6:53 left. Neither team was able to pull away from the other as Tarleton State tied the game yet again late in the quarter at 22-22 after a layup from Jakoriah Long. The Lions would not be phased though, capping off the quarter on a 7-2 run with the exclamation point coming courtesy of a Wernli three put Lindenwood up 29-24 through the first 20 minutes of action.
Out of the locker room the Lions offense caught fire exploding for 22 points on 7/10 shooting in the quarter. The Texans would cut the Lions lead to two at 32-30 before a 9-2 run gave Lindenwood their largest lead of the game at seven, 39-32. Lindenwood would run their lead up to 11 at 45-34 capped off by a Wernli three as all the gears started clicking for the Lions. Mykayla Cunningham would cap off the quarter with a layup for Lindenwood putting them up 51-41 headed into the final quarter of play.
Tarleton State cut the lead to six early in the fourth quarter but Lindenwood was able to respond and go back up by 11 with 4:29 left to play. A 6-0 run from the Texans cut the Lions lead to five at 60-55 with 1:23 left but Cunningham was able to put the nail in the coffin with a layup to put Lindenwood back up seven with under a minute to go as the Lions were able to 5/6 from the foul line to ice the game and give the Lions a 67-59 win and advance to the Super 16 round of the WNIT.
Lindenwood’s next game has yet to be announced as they will take on the winner of Louisiana Tech and Texas Southern, with times and locations to be announced after the conclusion of that game.
