Ohio Valley Conference

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Faith Lee pumped in a game-high 20 points Saturday but a slow start and finish by Little Rock led to a 67-45 defeat at the hands of the Missouri State Lady Bears during the Trojans' final non-conference contest. The Trojans (2-7) managed just eight points in the first quarter and were outscored 17-5 in the final stanza at Great Southern Bank Arena, where Little Rock fell to 1-12 all-time. Little Rock also fell to 0-5 on the road this season while Missouri State upped its record to 6-3.
 
Lee connected on 10-of-19 shots from the floor to account for almost half of Little Rock's scoring output. No other player scored more than five as the Trojans shot 40.4 percent for the game. Little Rock made just 2-of-13 from behind the arc and 1-of-4 from the free throw line. The Trojans were also outrebounded by a 37-23 margin.
 
Little Rock scored the first four points of the contest but ended the opening period shooting just 26.7 percent, while the hosts ended the period on a 15-4 run. The Lady Bears went up by as many as 14 in the first half before settling for a 33-21 lead at the break. Lee had eight of her 20 in the first half. She added 10 more in the third, helping the Trojans get within seven points late in the third, but Missouri State was aided by 9-of-10 shooting from the stripe to keep a 50-40 lead heading into the fourth period. A 12-0 run by the Lady Bears helped put the game out of reach in the final quarter.
 
Jordan Holman had five points and three rebounds for Little Rock, Emeral Parker added two points and a team-high eight boards, and Jayla Brooks added three points and three assists. Brenna Burk (4), Alaina Payne (4) and Annemarie Batista (3) added scoring off the bench.

OMAHA 73, LINDENWOOD 66
ST. CHARLES, Mo. - Lindenwood women's basketball (4-5, 0-0 OVC) drop their final non-conference game of the season against Omaha (7-5, 0-0 SL) by a final score of 73-66. The Lions end their non-conference schedule with a 4-5 record, their most wins before entering Ohio Valley Conference play.

LU was led by Justis Odom who was tied for the team lead with 16 points. Odom shot 5-10 from the floor including 6-8 from the line while grabbing a team-high eight rebounds. Mya Skoff also added 16 points off the bench while shooting 6-9 with three triples.

Gracy Wernli and Brooke Coffey also had double-figures in the loss with 10 each. Coffey played in just 18 minutes due to early foul trouble. The Illinois State transfer shot 4-9 from the floor while adding four rebounds and two steals. Wernli was 4-7 from the floor on her way to her 10 points.

Lindenwood shot 42.4% from the floor and went 6-21 from three-point range. Lions had a late comeback getting it down to six points with under two minutes to play, but as a team were held to 35.3% shooting from the floor in the fourth. Omaha shot 45.3% for the game (24-53) while making 22-23 at the foul line.

Lindenwood opened up a 14-10 lead in the first quarter including an early four points from Odom. The Lions started the game shooting 6-9 from the field including a perfect 2-2 from three. LU capitalized on four Omaha turnovers early scoring five points off of those. The lead was cut to one after a fast break layup from Lauren Perry with under a minute left. Wernli scored a layup with three seconds left to give LU a three-point lead after one 19-16.
 
Omaha started the second half on a 5-0 run to take a 21-19 lead, their first since early in the first quarter. Skoff and Mykyala Cunningham got back-to-back buckets to fall for their own 5-0 run to go up 24-21. Ja Harney scored a layup with 5:30 left to take the lead back at 27-26.
 
The Mavericks ended the half on an 11-3 run as they led 38-29 at halftime. Lindenwood was held to 30.8% shooting from the floor in the second quarter including 1-6 from three. Omaha was a perfect 7-7 from the foul line to extend their lead. Odom had a team high nine points at the break.
 
Omaha was able to score 18 points in the paint during the first half while going 10-10 at the foul line. Cora Olsen led all scorers with 10 points after 20 minutes of action. The Mavericks were active on the boards out-rebounding Lindenwood 23-12 in the first half.
 
Lindenwood started the third quarter shooting 3-5 from the field, but still trailed 44-36 with 6:54 remaining. Coffey had an early five points in the quarter shooting 2-3 from the field. Gracy Wernli's three right after the media timeout cut the lead to five.
 
LU outscored the Mavericks 22-18 in the third quarter while shooting 53.3% from the floor. Skoff had five points in the quarter as the Lions found themselves down 56-51 with 10 minutes left. Lindenwood dominated on the glass in the third period out-rebounding Omaha 11-4.

Omaha opened up the lead to 14 points in the fourth quarter with a layup by Ja Harvey, as it was too much for the Lions to comeback from. LU cut the lead to under six with 1:17 left, but the Mavericks were able to escape with a win in Hyland. LU was 6-17 from the floor in the fourth quarter whereas Omaha was 5-10 including 6-6 from the foul line.

ST. THOMAS 69, WESTERN ILLINOIS 56
ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Western Illinois Women's basketball team dropped their matchup to St. Thomas on Saturday afternoon by a score of 69-56. Raegan McCowan led the Leathernecks with 22 points, hitting 8 of her 17 field-goal attempts and 5-of-6 from the free-throw line, while adding six rebounds. Addi Brownfield contributed 12 points, including a three-pointer, and showcased defensive prowess with four steals and Mia Nicastro added 11 points and grabbed five rebounds. 

The Leathernecks trailed early, unable to overcome a strong offensive start by St. Thomas, who scored 39 points in the first half compared to WIU's 22. The Leathernecks mounted a stronger second-half effort, tallying 34 points, but it wasn't enough to close the gap. WIU committed 14 turnovers in the game and St. Thomas scored 18 points off Leatherneck miscues.

As a team, WIU shot 32.8% from the field (19-of-58) and 17.6% from beyond the arc (3-of-17). Despite their effort, the Leathernecks kept it close on the boards getting out rebounded 38-30. The Leatherneck defense recorded nine steals and four blocks but struggled to contain Jade Hill of St. Thomas, who scored 26 points.