Box Score | Season Stats
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – The 15th-ranked Lady Blues closed out the regular season portion of their schedule by drubbing Lincoln 71-51 on Saturday afternoon at Jason Gym. Washburn, the No. 2 seed, will open the MIAA tournament on Friday at 6 p.m. against seventh-seeded Missouri Western.
The game was tied in the early going when Stevi Schultz drained a three and Alyssa Mullen scored a bucket to put Washburn (21-5, 17-5 MIAA) in front for good at 12-7. The Blue Tigers (2-24, 1-21 MIAA) pulled to within a pair at 14-12 with 11:36 to play in the half, but a quick 7-0 run put the Lady Blues in front 21-12 with just over seven minutes left in the period.
Washburn extended the lead to 12 on a Schultz three with 4:14 remaining in the opening stanza, but Lincoln scored six of the final eight points of the half to pull within single digits, 30-22, at the break.
The lead was nine with just over 18 minutes to play in the game when the Lady Blues went on a 13-2 run to open a 20-point lead with 12:46 to play in the game. The Blue Tigers got back to within 13 at 59-46 with just under six minutes to play, but back-to-back treys from Laura Kinderknecht and Schultz pushed the lead back to 19 with 4:48 to play. The Blues pushed the lead to as many as 23 in the late stages of the game.
Mullen led four Lady Blues in double figures with 15 points, she also had six rebounds. Kinderknecht had 14 points, while Schultz and Cassie Lombardino had 13 points each. Lombardino had a team-high seven boards, while Megan Lassley tied her career-high with eight assists.
Washburn shot 46.4 percent (26-of-56) from the floor and 36.4 percent (8-of-22) from three point range. The Lady Blues were 11-of-13 from the foul line and had 17 assists compared to a season-low four turnovers.
Vivian Essuon led the Blue Tigers with 20 points, while Jackeya Mitchell had 14. Lincoln shot 41.7 percent (20-of-48) from the field and 29.2 percent (7-of-24) from beyond the arc. LU was 4-of-6 from the charity stripe.
