WEDNESDAY'S SCORES
@Kansas 56,
Lindenwood 43
@
Little Rock 88, Central Baptist 43
KANSAS 56, LINDENWOOD 43
LAWRENCE, Kan. - Lindenwood women's basketball (0-1, 0-0 OVC) fell on Wednesday to Big 12 opponent Kansas (1-0, 0-0 Big 12) in Allen Fieldhouse by a final score of 56-43. The Lions' offense struggled early in the first half scoring only 11 points, but rallied in the second scoring 32.
"Not happy with the end result, but saw a lot of great things we can build on," said head coach Amy Eagan. "Really proud of our defense and how we competed from start to finish."
Wednesday night basketball action saw the Lions held to 27.1% shooting from the field including 1-24 from three-point range. Lindenwood's best quarter of the night came in the third after the Lions shot 7-14 from the field.
Lindenwood's 2023-24 leading scorer Ellie Brueggemann picked up where she left off last season scoring a team-high 12 points in 30 minutes of action. Despite her struggles against the Jayhawks from three-point distance (1-14 3FG), Brueggemann found ways to score including going 5-5 from the foul line.
Brooke Coffey in her Lindenwood debut scored 10 points shooting 5-7 from the floor. The St. Charles, Mo. native played 28 minutes picking up five rebounds. Gracy Wernli also scored eight points in her first game as a Lion while adding two steals. Mykayla Cunningham chipped in seven points, two rebounds and two steals.
Kansas finished Wednesday evening shooting 43.1% from the field while knocking down six triples on 19 attempts. S'Mya Nichols scored a game-high 20 points while shooting 7-11 from the floor. Reagan Williams also added 11 points for the Jayhawks.
Lindenwood was only out-rebounded by one in Allen Fieldhouse (38-37), but the Lions hustled on the offensive end scooping up 15 offensive rebounds. The Lions scored 18 points off second chance opportunities compared to just eight by the Jayhawks. Lindenwood outscored Kansas in both the third and fourth periods.
Coffey got the scoring underway for the 2024-25 season in the first period with the first of her five field-goals. Lindenwood offense was kept in check in the first period shooting 2-13 from the field. The Jayhawks also struggled shooting 33.3% in the first while only leading by six (11-5).
Kansas pushed their lead to 18 points going into halftime after out-scoring the Lions 18-6 in the second period. No Lion had scored more than two points after the second quarter. Lindenwood was held to under 20.0% shooting in the first half and went 0-10 from deep.
Coffey opened up the Lindenwood offense in the third quarter as the Lions started off the third shooting 5-7 from the field. She scored eight of her 10 points in the third while going perfect from the floor (4-4). Lindenwood was active on the glass picking up five offensive rebounds and adding eight second chance points. Lions trailed 43-26 heading into the final quarter of play.
Lindenwood cut the Jayhawk's lead to as little as 12 in the fourth quarter but Kansas held on to defeat LU on opening night by a final score of 56-43. Brueggemann led the way in the fourth scoring eight points including the Lions' lone three pointer. Gracy Wernli also added four points. The Lions went 8-9 fro the charity stripe in the fourth as the outscored KU 17-13 in the final quarter of play.
LITTLE ROCK 88, CENTRAL BAPTIST 43
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Steve Wiedower started his collegiate head coaching career with a resounding bang, with Little Rock steamrolling Central Baptist (NAIA) for an 88-43 victory Wednesday night at the Jack Stephens Center. Four players scored in double figures for the Trojans, who posted their highest single-game scoring total since Feb. 14, 2022, a span of 68 games.
Faith Lee led all scorers with 20 points, freshman Brenna Burk pumped in 14 off the bench, Ashley Lester added 12 in a reserve role, and Jordan Holman pitched in 10 to go with six rebounds, five steals and two blocks. Brenna grabbed six rebounds, Lee swiped four steals, and Sug Williams totaled eight points, eight rebounds, and three assists.
After redshirting last season, freshman Emerald Parker tossed in nine points while starting in place of injured senior Mesi Triplett. Little Rock (1-0) attempted 79 shots in Wiedower's offense, which runs at a higher gear than those directed by legendary coach Joe Foley, who passed the torch to his longtime assistant in July. In fact, the Trojans' shot total is the second-most in program history for a single game (84 in 1987).
Little Rock cruised to a 16-point lead in the first period on the strength of a 15-0 run that gave the Trojans a 17-2 advantage. The Trojans never trailed in the game, expanding their lead to 41-15 at intermission. Lee had 14 points at the break and Burk added 11. It was 61-28 after three periods and Little Rock put up 27 more in the final frame. Central Baptist was held to just 21.6 percent shooting (11-of-51) and leading scorer Raigan Head was held scoreless (0-for-5) after entering the game averaging 23 points in the Mustangs' first three contests.
The Trojans pounded the boards for a 48-39 rebounding advantage, forced 31 turnovers which led to 37 points, and outscored the Mustangs 52-8 in the paint. Little Rock's bench almost outscored Central Baptist's entire roster, totaling 39 points.