It had been 224 days since the Lindenwood women’s basketball team (1-0) had played a game, but that ended on Wednesday as they dismantled Harris Stowe State University (0-3) 107-23 to open up the 2025-2026 season.
Lindenwood’s 107 points were the most in a game since they put up 102 points in a 103-102 double OT loss to Emporia State on Nov. 17, 2021. Lindenwood’s offense was clicking on all cylinders, and with it being education day and the stands packed with local schools, the Lions feasted on that energy to dominate to victory.
Head coach Amy Eagan said after the game, “We really stayed the course, and we really worked to continue to play for 40 minutes. And sometimes when you have the lead, that’s hard, but it was something I knew was going to be important to us. I thought our kids did a really, really good job at that.”
The 84-point margin of victory was also the biggest in Lindenwood women’s basketball history and broke the record previously set at 83 when Lindenwood defeated Central Christian College of the Bible 113-30 back in 2017.
Five different players scored in double figures for the Lions, and 10 of the 11 players that entered the game scored as Lindenwood shot 50% as a team from the field and 40% from three.
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It was the well-oiled parts of the machine that Amy Eagan has been building here at Lindenwood that dominated today as Brooke Coffey put up a double-double, with 15 points and a career high 13 rebounds. She also dished out a team-high six assists.
Eagan praised Coffey, saying, “Brooke had a double-double. I couldn’t name enough good things that we did today.”
“That was crazy. I didn’t even know.” Coffey said about her double-double, “Lou kind of hyped me up in the locker room. They really harp on us about getting O-boards and D-boards, so it’s something we try to focus on.”
Ellie Brueggemann had 15 points and was 4/10 from beyond the arc, while Gracie Kelsey had 10 points, four rebounds, and four assists, and Gracy Wernli had eight points and a pair of steals.
Alyssa Nielsen found her groove off the bench, chipping in with 15 points, including 3/5 from long range, while also hauling in six rebounds. Lindenwood out-rebounded the Hornets 59-29 and dished out 31 assists on their 38 made baskets as a team.
Eagan credited the ball movement, saying, “You talk about 31 assists, our kids are willing to share it. They’re willing to make the extra pass. More than anything, we’re just great teammates.”
Newcomers play a big role
Aleshia Jones led all scorers with 21 points as the grad transfer came off the bench and went 8/12 from the field and 3/6 from downtown while also grabbing seven rebounds, dishing out three assists, and having three steals.
Eagan highlighted the contribution of her new players, saying, “Our young kids and our new kids, Alicia Jones, Valerie Norwood, Anna McCarn—just stepped right in and played with a lot of confidence. They’ve proven that they can do that.”
True freshman Valeri Norwood was also fantastic off the bench, flying around on defense and harassing Harris-Stowe players all game as she racked up five rebounds, six assists, and a game-high five steals.
Fellow freshman Anna McCarn was also a welcome sight to see, as the Mountain Home, Arkansas, native and Lindenwood’s tallest player had eight points and five rebounds in 14 minutes of action.
Eagan praised the team’s depth, noting, “We have seven kids right now that can start, in a good way, that’s really tough for me, but in a good way, it’s really great for our program.”
Defense was elite
Lindenwood’s defense was flying around all game as they kept the energy up, not allowing Harris-Stowe to score double digits in any quarter, with the eight points in the first quarter being the most they would score.
They held the Hornets to 17% shooting from the field and 11% from three as Lindenwood forced 23 turnovers, had 18 steals, and seven blocks in a do-it-all kind of effort on the defensive end.
Eagan emphasized the importance of maintaining habits for the full 40 minutes, “I wanted us to have the right mindset, we want our habits to be consistent for us, 40 minutes a game, no matter who we’re playing, no matter the score. I believe that’s what championship teams do.”
Lindenwood now has a big opportunity as they head out on the road for the first time, down to Waco, Texas, to play at #16 Baylor on Sunday, Nov. 9 at 2 p.m., streaming exclusively on ESPN+. It’ll be the second time in Lindenwood’s Division-1 era that they are playing a top-25 team.
“I think it’s just a great opportunity for us.” Coffey said, “To show that we can have the same preparation and outlook no matter who we’re playing. That’ll show how locked in we are at practices.”
